A Little Bird's Hope
by cicre
Summary: RxN SxK I may not have freedom yet, but please, help me find it!
1. The Party, the Escape, & the Memories

**The Party, the Escape, & the Memories**

**This is my first fanfic ever. Seriously. I'm not sure how long this is going to end up, but I hope that it will be a great story. All characters belong to their respected owners. (mainly Square Enix)**

**Also, this is Slightly based off a song by Taylor Swift.**

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She shut her eyes. She knew what was going to happen this evening but she still was refusing to accept it. She just couldn't believe her father would set this up for her.

_Inhale. Exhale._ She was constantly repeating that to herself. Slowly she open her deep blue eyes, acting as if she was not wanting to open them. _I guess its time to put this show on the road... _She slipped on her baby blue heels and slowly walked to the door.

"IS SHE HERE YET?" Namine peered down the gold colored stair case railing to see the one who was making her go through with this whole ridiculous thing -- Her father.

She had a plan, one that would let her escape this fiasco of a party that he was making her attend. But of course, there was no way she would make any notice of it towards him. "Ahh... Sorry Father," she looked down making her seem like she was truly sorry. She lifted her head and gave a smile that would seem very sincere "I was just adding a few touch ups to this dress that you had picked out for me" She turned and started to walk down the large set of stair. Her pure white dress was sparkling from the light of the crystal chandelier.

"Do you have everything? Are you ready? You've already made all the guests wait 30 minutes!" Shouted her father hastily.

"Yes father, I have everything, I'm ready. I am truly sorry for making them wait." Namine replied.

"Yes Yes! You'd better be! I expect you to announce that you are when you get there! We do not want to have to beg them you know! Now, hurry up and get to the car!" He shouted.

She looked down not wanting to show her dad the sorrow in her shining eyes and simply replied, "...Yes father..."

They got into the freshly cleaned car and started to drive.

_All I have to do is greet a few people then slip out for a few hours and come back near the end. Simply as that.... I hope... ugh._

And with the 'ugh' they were there. She got out of the car very gracefully. Her father stayed in the car and when she was fully out, he told the driver to go to some 'Gentleman's Club" or something like that. Namine didn't really hear it, nor did she really care. When she went through the door into the large building she was starting to have a few second doubts, worrying that her father had sent bodyguards or something here to spy on her. She was just hoping for the best while she started to walk down the hall towards the stairs that led to the main room.

"And Let Me Please Welcome-- Miss Namine"  
A huge spotlight suddenly shown down on her. _D-did... did I just get caught...?_ She thought to herself. _Oh god... He's gonna kill me...._ He cheeks went a light scarlet color until she looked around and realize that they were just introducing her.

The man gave her a somewhat anxious look seeming to say 'Aren't you going to wave or something? You're making my job difficult here, Miss!"

Namine took the hint and set up her fake smile and began to wave at everyone while walking down the stairs. This was easy for her-- she had been faking a smile for everyone for the past five years. She knew she was just a tool.

When she finally got down to the bottom of the stairs she knew that tons of eyes where staring at her. Of course, her father made sure that she looked absolutely perfect for this party. Her dress was pure white that went to her knees in the front and was a slight train in the back. It had a beautiful lace around the bottom too. The top of the dress was strapless but had a collar that was white with a single, small white rose on it. Her hair was fashioned in a loose bun with some hair hanging down on her right side. In her hair was a small, silver crown with a diamond in the center. She started to feel a bit uncomfortable with the stares so she walked (gracefully so if her father's men were here they would say she looked like she was trying) towards one of the men.

"Hello." She said softly.  
"Ah, miss Namine! What a delight to finally meet you! Would you like to meet my son? He will be the head of my company one day very soon! Very soon indeed!" The man said, almost too chippery.  
"Alright." She flashed another fake smile.

He put his arm around her as if to welcome a new addition to the family and guided her towards his son.

"Cloud! Cloud! I must say!! Cloud! Come here! I've someone you simply must meet! She is truly such a delight!" Said the mad again, waving towards a blond boy looking about 1-2 years older than Namine.

Cloud started to walk towards Namine and his father with a somewhat timid looking smile on his face.

"Cloud! This is Miss Namine! Isn't she just gorgeous? Truly!" Spouted Cloud's father again.  
"Hello. My, you do look very gorgeous indeed." he said while bowing then taking her delicate hand and give it a small kiss.

She blushed faintly, because no one had ever kissed her hand before.

"So what company do you own Mr...." She still hadn't caught their last name.  
"Strife" Cloud said as if he knew it were coming.  
"Oh.. Mr. Strife?" Namine said looking down a little.  
"We own a Delivery Service! Truly a marvelous one I must say! Top in the nation! SDS!" Mr. Strife was getting rather annoying in Namine's mind.  
"Oh a delivery service you say? SDS.... Oh! Strife Delivery Service! Well, I must make sure that I will use it next time then!" Namine was getting bored of pretending to care about these rich families' positions but she knew that she need to keep this up for another 15 minutes before she would make her move.

"Ah! Mr. Cloud, Mr. Strife I'm truly sorry but you mustn't keep hogging me, I've got to check on the other guests, this is my 16th Birthday after all!" Namine was tired of Mr. Strife. Cloud seemed somewhat nice but she was tired of hearing that old man talk.  
"Ah, Yes Yes! You must be going now! What would the other guests say! Well I do wish you the very best!" Mr. Strife said merrily.  
"Happy Birthday." Simply said Cloud.  
She looked back and said, "Thank You!" with a smile. _I've talked to two people and I'm already sick of it. I hate this rich life._

For the next fifteen minutes she chatted with some other companies families like Blitz League, Fair Trading & Co., One Winged Angel Works, Tribal Bros. Inc., Midgar's Flowers, Seventh Heaven, Strahl Enterprises and Galbana Lilies Inc. Namine thought to herself _Tidus was pretty nice. So was Tifa. I can definitely see something between Zack and Aerith.... Ugh but Sephiroth was terrifying so was his mother.. Zidane was cool but his brother give me the willies. Vaan was pretty nice but Balthier was way to self centered._

A bunch of other people kept trying to swarm her but she had finally used her 'I have to go to the bathroom' excuse and got away. _Finally, I'm free for two hours._  
She slipped out of one of the side glass doors and headed towards Destiny Gardens. She felt a little weird because of how fancy she was dressed but she really didn't care. _I wish that he would stop doing this. I'm only 16. I'm not getting married anytime soon. Besides that I don't want to marry some guy whose got a huge rich family that wouldn't love me. I'm sick of it. I hate being rich. I hate my father._

**XXXXXXXXX**

Luckily Destiny Gardens was only a short walk away. It was far enough away that usually people from the party wouldn't go to but close enough to where she'd get back on time. She went straight for the nearest bench. She had been in this park a million times before, when She was alive. Now though, her father never lets her out of her cage. She understood why pet birds sing, because it was their only freedom-- They could not fly. They were trapped, just like how Namine felt. She felt a warm tear roll down her pale cheek. She wiped it away, trying to smile in the process. _C'mon Nami... Don't act like this. This is your one chance at freedom in a long time. You've only got two hours, stop acting like this!!_

She lifted her head towards the sky. _Its so beautiful..._ Namine shut her eyes. She wanted to remember.

**_______________________________________________________________________________**

_"Mama!! Mama! Look how high I can swing!! Look Look!" Said the 7 year old blond girl._

_"Oh Wow! Namine! Amazing! Don't swing too high, you might just swing into space!" Laughed the 29 year old blonde._

_"I won't really will I mama!?" Questioned little Namine, actually quite afraid._

_"No dear! Hee Hee. Anyways, Nami! come here I've got something to show you!" Said Namine's mother again._

_"Allllllllrighhhhhhhty!!~~~" She slowed her swinging then hopped off. Namine ran towards her mother with such a huge grin. She was hoping it would be a new white sundress, she liked those._

_"Alright Nami, close your eyes and put out your hands. Ready?" She followed her mother's instructions and felt her place something in her little hands, "3... 2... 1... OPEN!"_

_Little Namine gasped and her face lit up even more than before. In her hands, were a rainbow of colored pencils and a sketch book._

_"You got 'em?! Really!? OH THANK YOU MAMA THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUUUUUUCH!" She jumped up into her mother's arms and gave her a huge hug._

**_______________________________________________________________________________**

She opened her eyes because she started to feel a stinging sensation. She had been crying. One little memory.... really.... Stop this right now Nami!  
Namine closed her eyes again. Think of a happy memory. Not one with Her.

**_______________________________________________________________________________**

_"HEEEEEEEEEEY! That's my swing!" Said a boy.  
"I don't see your naaaaame on it!~" Little Namine replied.  
"Whatever...." the blond kid grumbled.  
"Hey! Why don't you push me ten times, then I'll push you ten times, that way you can have you swing and I can have it too!" Little Namine felt proud for this idea.  
"I guess..." The blond boy was obviously still upset but began pushing._

_Namine's turn was over and the boy hopped on.  
"Let me tell ya, I push really good!" Namine said with a huge grin._

_They spent an hour going back and forth with this. By the end, they both were laughing and having so much fun like they always knew each other._

_"The jungle gym next!" Shouted Namine.  
"Yeah! Yeah! let's go! I call monkey bars!" Shouted the boy back.  
"You can do the monkey bars?" Namine questioned like it was the most amazing thing in the world.  
"Of course! Can't you?" Replied the boy.  
"....No...." Namine didn't really want to answer like that but she was worried that her new friend wouldn't like her for it.  
"Want me to teach you?" Said the boy with a smile.  
"YES PLEASE!" Namine was so overcome with happiness she couldn't help but shoot a huge smile at him._

_"Namine, Its' time to go!" Namine turned around to see her mother standing there, waving._

_"Awww! But I made this friend mama!!" Namine almost sounded like she were about to cry.  
"Its okay, I'll teach you how to do the monkey bars some other day! Next time I'll bring my friends too! One is funny, One looks like you with red hair and another is a year older than us! I'm sure you'd get along great with them!" The boy smiled a really kind smile as he said that. He ran up to Namine and gave her a hug. "So don't cry okay?" Again that kind smile._

_Namine sniffled her nose then said "Okay, But you gotta promise okay!" She wouldn't stop looking back at the boy, waving to him as she was leaving. Somewhere in her, she just felt like she wouldn't meet him again anytime soon._

_**X**  
_

Namine opened her eyes again and took them off the sky-- towards the swing set that she loved when she was younger. _I wonder if.... nah.... wait! why not? no one can say anything. They won't know._ She giggled to herself and stood up. _Oh shoot.... what's the time...._ She looked up at one of those pillars with clocks on them. _Hm..... only been 30 minutes.._ She took off her heels and ran towards the swing, making sure not to get her dress dirty. She hopped on the swing and began swinging. _Higher, Higher!_ She felt the wind on her face and loved it. She closed her eyes again. _This.... This must be what it feels like to be free... At least for now... Is this what birds feel? If it is... I wouldn't mind becoming o--_ Suddenly Namine's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone saying "Is that a princess?"

Namine's eyes flew open as she looked at whoever said that. "W-Wha?" Was all that could leave her lips.  
It was a boy, a blond haired, blue eyed boy. Something about him was very familiar to Namine, but she just couldn't place it.

"What's with that crown, Princess?" He simply questioned.  
"Huh? What gives you the right to know? You're just some stranger." Namine was feeling a little uncomfortable with this dude.  
"I'm Roxas. There now we aren't strangers. Seriously though, what's with that crown, Princ--" She stopped him before he could finish that last word.  
"I'm not a princess!! Shut the hell up!" Namine didn't know why she was getting so defensive but something about him that she couldn't place was making her angry.  
"Jeeze, sorry princess!" He chuckled and she jumped off the swing onto him.  
Gritting her teeth and moving her face closer to his, she said in a very low voice, "I. Am. Not. A. Princess." And she almost socked him in the face. _This dude won't stop ruining my freedom! Seriously though, why is he even bugging me._  
"Heh, I like the view from here" Roxas said shifting his eyes down and laughing.  
Namine's face went scarlet red in an instant and she got off of him as fast as she could. "Ugh! I hate people like you!" She was about to kick him because he was still laughing but he sat up real quick and went serious. Namine just turned around and walked towards the bench where she set her shoes with her fists clenched.  
"So... what's with what you're wearing?" Roxas said, Studying the beautiful white dress that was now covered in dirt.  
"Again, its none of your business now is it?" She simply replied annoyed.  
"Ah... Uh... Ya know... I didn't mean anything from what I just said... Just joking... Like friends do." As Roxas said that his eyes kept turning towards the ground.  
Namine sighed. "Since when were we friends"  
"Hm... Well... Since..." He paused and put up his fingers to count, "I think it was... 9 years? Or maybe 8. Dang, we met so long ago. Ha Ha."

Namine did a quick double take and then just stared at the Blonde with her mouth wide open. "Wha... What?" _Was this kid serious?_ She was trying to come up with something else to say but then she just remembered when she was 7 again. _Th-That..... That boy... Is HIM?!_

"You know...... A face like that doesn't suit a girl like you." He said with a smile then chuckled a bit.

Namine's cheeks went a bright red color then she turned back around and ran for the bench where her shoes were. _I really need to leave._

"W-Wait! You still haven't answered my questions!" Roxas was starting to get up to stop her from leaving.

"Ugh... Do I really need to?" Namine didn't want to stay here but she also didn't want to go back even more. She was still walking towards her shoes-- her feet were hurting.

"Well will it honestly be that troublesome to catch up with an old friend?" He ran to catch up to her with a grin on his face.

"Well...." She looked to the right, the side that he wasn't on. "I guess I could answer a couple questions. I have about another hour to kill before I gotta get back to _That._" She frowned when she mentioned that. They were finally at the bench and they both sat down.

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**I hope anyone who read this enjoyed the first chapter. I might try to start chapter two tonight. Please Read & Review! :D**


	2. Into The Night

**Into The Night**

**Alright second chapter! Yay! Please Enjoy! **

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Namine massaged her sore feet on the bench. "Alright, start asking your questions."

"Hmm... Alright I've been seriously wondering, whats with those clothes?" Roxas said pointing towards her dirty dress.

She figured this would be his first question. "I was at a party."

"A rich party?"

"Yes." Namine had stopped massaging her feet and just looked out into the park. Roxas noticed how her eyes seemed glazed over.

"Er.... You okay?" He wasn't sure if he should do something.

She snapped back to normal. "...Huh? Yeah I'm fine. Don't you remember my name? Jeeze..."

"How can I remember a name I haven't been told?" He said making sure that it didn't sound rude or anything.

"Oh...." she gave a faint laugh, "My name is Namine." She was still looking out towards the park.

"Okay, so Namine, is something wrong?"

"...My dad..." Namine grumbled.

"And what's wrong with him?"

"I'm like his caged little bird..." She shifted her vision from the park to the ground.

"He won't let you out?" Roxas actually had a concerned look on his face.

"Only for school and parties like this. But he only lets me out for parties in hopes that I'll find a proper fiancee."

"That's horrible!" Roxas stood up. "Can't you just refuse or something!"

"Ha... My father would just keep me locked up even longer. He still only letting me go to school so I don't 'shame' him."

"Psh.... What a jackass of a dad." Roxas sounded so angry when he said this. Namine could tell, his fists were clenched.

"Just sit back down." She said, pointing to the bench but not removing her gaze from the ground.

Roxas obediently sat back down and remained silent for a few moments. His gaze shifted to her. _She looks like a broken princess _He thought to himself.

He stood up again and walked in front of Namine. "Alright, Namine! We're going to take you somewhere!" When he finished his sentence her grabbed her by the arm and yanked her up. Namine had sort of been too interested in the ground because she didn't realize what just happened until she was standing. "Wait, what?" She had no idea what he had just said.

"We're gonna go somewhere!" He Shouted.

"What? B-but! The time!" She glanced up at the same pillar-clock."I only have 40 minutes left!"

"That's plenty of time!" He said with a grin.

"B-but! What about what I'm wearing?!" Suddenly her face went pale. _What I'm wearing_ She repeated in her head. "OH GOD! MY DRESS!" She shrieked.

Roxas looked puzzled. "You're.... Dress?" He looked over and realized what she meant. Her beautiful white dress was completely covered in dust and dirt with some grass stains.

"We.... could get it dry cleaned?" He said trying not to make her stress out even more.

"That wouldn't help! I have no replacement dress! If He finds out, He'll kill me! He'll know I left!" Her voice sounded frantic and tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Uh.... My friend Kairi has a dress that you could probably borrow. What high school do you go to?" Roxas was still trying to calm her down.

"Uh... Twilight High." She said. She was trying to hold back her tears.

"Hey! I go there too!" He exclaimed "Ah! Anyways, How 'bout we stop at Kairi's house, change you take your dress to the dry cleaner's then when the dress is finished I return it to you at school?"

She stayed silent for a few minutes to replay how that would work in her mind. "Do... Do you think that could possibly work?" A few of her tears had poured out but she was still trying to keep them in.

"Of course it will!" He flashed her a smile that was very similar to the one that she had in her memories and gave her a big hug. "So no more tears okay?" He was about to pull away but she stopped him. She buried her face into his chest and said, "Thank you so much!" Although it sounded muffled.

His face went red but quickly faded as he pulled her away. "Alright, we can't stay here hugging. We have to go if you want to get back on time!" He turned around and bent down a little to let her on his back.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Namine questioned.

"Piggyback! Get on, your feet hurt don't they?" He replied. turning his face back to show a smile.

"Uh... okay?" And she hopped on. Namine had never had a piggy back before, or at least one that she could remember.

_Is this was kindness feels like?_ Namine asked herself. Since she didn't know how long this was going to take she just kind of hug Roxas' back. Besides that, she was sort of scared she'd fall off. Roxas' face went red when he felt her pressed against him but its not like her didn't _not_ like it.

Roxas was running of towards Kairi's house, trying to get there as fast as he possibly could with Namine on his back.

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**Sorry about the short-ness of this chapter... and it being mainly dialog. Roxas had lots of questions okay! xD**

**Anyways, next chapter, Kairi's house!**


	3. Is She Pregnant?

**Is She Pregnant?**

**Originally this was suppose to be one huge chapter (with the next one) but then it was too long so I decided to split it in half.**

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_DING DONG_

"Mom! Are you gonna get that?" Said a red headed girl.

"Kairi! I'm busy making cookies! Won't you get it?" Her mom called back.

Kairi stood up and turned her head to the brown hair boy sitting on her couch, "Sorry Sora, I gotta get it." Then she gave him a wink and walked to the door. As soon as she opened the door, Kairi gasped. Roxas was standing at her door with some girl in a messed up looking dress.

"Wha....What in the world?" She said which made the brown haired boy get up from the couch to she was she was gasping about.

"Roxas! I told you not to bring a girl you get pregnant here!" He cooed.

"Shut the hell up Sora!" Roxas barked.

"You wanna fight?" Sora said with a grin.

"Guys! Guys!" Kairi shifted her head towards Sora and shouted "Sora! Go sit back down." Then she moved her head back towards Roxas and said, "So what's going on?" Pointing towards the blond female standing next to him.

"Uh...." Namine's voice was weak because she was a bit afraid of these new people "I'm.... Namine." Kairi was still staring at Roxas as if saying _What did you do to this poor girl?_ She then turned her gaze to Namine and flashed a smile. "Hi Namine! My name's Kairi. That doofus back there with the brown hair was Sora." She paused and gestured towards the living room. Namine heard the voice of Sora in the living room shouting back "I am not Kairi!" which was followed by a "Shut up Sora!" by both Kairi and Roxas. Namine couldn't help but giggle.

"Alright well, come in, come in!" Kairi waved her hand as if commanding them to enter the house. When Roxas entered she shot him another glare which made him then spout "Kairi I didn't do anything to her! I swear!"

Namine could hear Sora in the living room again burst out laughing. The blond was getting a bit confused as to if they were serious or just completely playing around with each other. Namine really never saw friends interacting like this before, except for school, but when she'd glance over they would all become silence and glare at her.

Kairi grabbed Roxas' arm and stopped him from proceeding into the living room. Namine turned back to see why Roxas wasn't behind her but Kairi was told her to go to the living room wait there for a minute.

"Did you do anything to her?" Kairi whispered.

"No! She just got her dress dirty and she needs one to borrow for when she gets back." Roxas didn't realize it until now, but he was really thirsty from all that running. "Hey Kai, could I get some water?"

Kairi raised an eyebrow "Dirty from what?" She questioned. "And only after I'm done."

"Uggggh... Fine.." Roxas looked a little irritated. "She was playing in the park in that white dress. Uh...." He didn't want to give Kairi any ideas so he didn't say anything about her jumping on him.

Her eyebrow was still raised. "That's all? What's a girl like her doing in a dress like that at Destiny Gardens at this hour?"

_OH CRAP TIME!_ Roxas thought. "Kairi! What time is it!"

Kairi noticed he was a little frantic about the time so she checked her watch. "Uh... its almost 9:30pm... Why?"

"Okay good, can she borrow one of your fancy dresses? Please?" Roxas asked quickly after she spoke.

"Uh... I guess I'll go grab one. She looks about the same size as me..." She peered over at Namine then looked back at Roxas. "Hey Roxie, why are you doing so much for this girl? Love at first sight?" At the last part she giggled.

"Shut up Kairi!" He shot back then he looked down at the brown carpet and blushed a little. "She's an old friend, okay?"

Kairi had a smirk on her lips then kind of rolled her eyes. "Yeaaaaah.... Okay..." Then she giggled even more.

During Kairi and Roxas' talk Sora had decided to squeeze some info out of Namine. Namine was still a little nervous being here with people who were so familiar with each other but she was trying to not show it.

"So, did Roxas knock you up?" Sora whispered to Namine with a sly grin on his face.

Namine's cheeks went bright red. "Wh-what? No! He said he'd ask Kairi to lend me a dress."

"Psh.... That's boring. He should've knocked you up!" Sora was still grinning while Namine couldn't believe people joked like this. The room went silent again and Sora didn't like it.

"So... Why are you wearing that dress?" Sora said trying to bring back up a conversation.

The blond really didn't want to answer but she figured it be fine to tell Roxas' friend. "I was at my Birthday Party."

Sora's eyes widened. "In that? What are you? Rich or something?"

Namine was a bit uncomfortable with that question but she didn't really care about these questions anymore. "Uh.... Yeah.."

"What does your family do for a living?" Again questioned the boy.

_Family... You can't call the people I'm related to a family..._ Namine shifted her gaze to the ground and Sora was picking up the signals that she was uncomfortable with the question.

"Uh..." He was about to say more but she stopped him and simply said "My dad owns a few companies... the most popular ones are... Memories Inc. and other one... I don't remember the name." But she was lying.

"My mother... she... she..." Namine stayed silent and could feel her eyes welling up with tears. _Why.... why can't I talk about Her..._

Sora was about to comfort her but he heard Kairi shout something about getting a dress and how Namine needs to come. The blond never sat down so she just walked off towards the stairs that led to Kairi's room.

Roxas was still standing in the hallway and decided to grab some water from the kitchen before he went to the living room. He waved to Mrs. Kaze while he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. She questioned why there was so much noise and he simply replied that he brought a friend. She then told him to stay for cookies that would be out soon.

Roxas just sat on the couch with Sora, trying to ignore his stupid jokes about getting her knocked up or something.

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**Reviews Appreciated!~**


	4. The Red Head's Room

**The Red Head's Room**

**I really liked this chapter for some reason. Hahaha.**

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Kairi's room was... kind of pink. Two of her walls were pink while the other two were white. Most of her furniture was pink, white, or gold. Her room was actually pretty big, not as big as Namine's but she didn't expect to see many other people with rooms the size of hers. Kairi's bed was in one corner near a large window. Above her bed was ribbons hanging down with little yellow, star-shaped fruit. They hung right about the head-board that was mainly white with some gold accents here and there. The blankets and sheets on her bed were different shades of pink and white while she had one small yellow star-shaped fruit pillow in the center. Her dresser was near the door, each handle on it was a little golden crown. The dresser was also white with some gold accents here and there, like on the head-board of the bed. She had a large hazel colored bookshelf lined with many books and some little toys and other things. On the same wall as the dresser was small closet with two doors. Namine was amazed at how simple the room was but how complexed it looked.

Kairi went straight to the closet and began fishing out as many fancy dresses as she could. _Hmm... She's pale.... so maybe something like light pink or light blue. Do I have anything white? _She was thinking as she sifted through her closet some more. While Kairi was doing this, Namine was staring off at all the books the red head had. She noticed that there was a very small plush in the shape of a star, just like all the other ones in her room. "Do you really like these star-shaped.... thingies?" Was the only thing that could leave the blond's mouth.

She jutted her head out of the closet to see what Namine was talking about. "Wha?" She glanced at the star. "...Oh! Those! They're call Paopu Fruits. They actually are really good. Sora's given me a couple..." Her voice trailed off as she was back in the closet searching for dresses.

Namine continued to study the bookshelf reading over some of the title like _Alice in Wonderland_, _Winnie the Pooh_, _The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe_, plus she noticed some books on princesses. She had always wanted to read some of these stories but she never could. She traced her fingers over the gold lettering on the red book that read _Alice in Wonderland_. Slowly she moved her finger up towards the top, as if she was scared that making noise would get her screamed at.

"Hey, Namine check out these ones." When Kairi said that Namine had actually jumped. Luckily Kairi had so many dresses in her arms that the red head couldn't see anything. Kairi walked to her bed by memory and dropped off the load with a sigh.

"Just sift through these, I'm sure you'll find something." When she finished her sentence she sat down on her bed to study the blond.

"Uh... okay." Namine walked to the bed and began her search. The first few she saw were actually quite nice but Namine felt like if she didn't wear something impressive, someone would find out.

"Hey... Nami, so how do you know Roxas?" Kairi questioned with a bit of a smile on her face.

Namine got a tingling feeling go down her spine at the question. She ignored it and continued to search through the dresses. "He... Uh... We were friends when we were really little... I just happened to meet him tonight."

This peeked Kairi's curiosity. "Oh really? How'd you guy meet again? Secret plans together? Running away together?" She was smiling during the whole thing.

"Huh? No, no! I just had left my 16th Birthday party and went to the park. Roxas was there and making fun of me while I was swinging. Stuff happened, my dress got dirty." She didn't want to make eye contact with Kairi, who had apparently lost interest in what Namine was saying after she said her 16th birthday. "Your birthday is today?! Mine is too! That's so weird!!" The red head was now laying on her stomache looking down at Namine as if really intrigued by the blond girl.

"Yeah... My father made me have one. He needs to impress the guests so he can keep doing business with them." Namine had found three dresses already that would seem suitable for the party.

"Business? Is your family rich or something?" Kairi questioned.

_Again, that word. Family. Ugh._ Namine answered the red's question simply with a "Yes."

Kairi's eyes widened a bit and she flipped over into her back. "Woooooow! Seriously? That's so awesome! So how come you ditched that party?"

"Everyone there is just after my dad's money... They think that becoming friends with me they'll get it. Although..." She thought of Cloud for a moment. "Some of the people aren't so bad..." Then she though of all the other rich kids that were pretty nice. "Actually a lot of the kids around my age weren't too bad. Some were a bit scary though." She gave a little laugh and realized that she really hasn't expressed herself very much these last 5 years. No one at school would talk to her, Her dad didn't care for her, her mom was... Gone, she had no one to talk to because she was always held up in her cage. She liked these feelings, they felt... real, not fake like the ones at the party.

Namine was holding onto a pale blue dress while she was going over her thoughts. She didn't even realize Kairi saying that it looked like she found one.

"Oh? Huh?" She held up the dress and stared at it for a while.

"Nami?" She heard then Namine snapped out of her daze.

"Sorry, yeah I think this'll be perfect. Hey Kairi, do you want to come to the party with me when I return?" Namine had finally looked up at the red head after avoiding eye contact for so long.

"Wow, really? Are you sure I can?" Kairi's face had lite up at the thought of going to a fancy party like that.

"Sure, why not?" Namine replied with a smile just as bright as Kairi. _This... warm feeling.. I really like it. _She thought after her smile.

"Hm.. Well I don't want rich guys hitting on me... Do you think Sora can come? Maybe Roxas too?" Kairi said as she ran to her closet to find a dress for herself. (She only took out dresses that she thought would be good looking on Namine before)

"I'm sure it couldn't hurt." Namine laughed as she watched how fast Kairi was searching for a dress.

Kairi flipped her head out of the closet and stated "You know, Nami, you could change while I'm doing this, we're both girls."

The blond realized she was still standing there holding the dress. She slid off her white dress and started to put on the blue one. She got it half way up when she heard a knock on Kairi's door. Then she heard the door knob turn and slowly open. Namine froze like a deer in the headlights. Sora had his hand on the door knob and a cookie hanging out of his mouth while Roxas had his hand up like he was knocking with one hand and the other holding a bottle of water half full. Their were facing each other looking like they were arguing. They turned their head towards the room to notice the half undressed blond. (She was wearing a bra so they didn't 'really' see anything!) It was completely silent in the room except for the sound of Kairi rustling through her closet. Namine's face was the reddest it had ever been and she could feel it.

Kairi stuck her head out again and to ask "Hey, Nami, why is it so..." Before she could finish the sentence she realized that there was two extra bodies in the doorway and three of the newly formed foursome where blushing madly. Plus the fallen cookie from Sora's hanging mouth.

"OHMYGOD! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!" Kairi screamed, ran to the door, closed it and made sure it was locked.

Namine began shaking a bit then fell to her knees trembling. Her face was still red, but not as much as before.

"Nami, I AM SO SORRY! I should've locked the door! I really didn't think that they'd come up here! Whenever they're over they always stay downstairs! When we're done, I swear I'll hit them both so hard for you!" Kairi went to the blond girl as fast as she could and tried to comfort her.

All that was going through Namine's head was _ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, what just happened? Who walked through that door? T-that... That was... Sora.... and Roxas..?! They just saw me..... oh god. oh god. oh god. _She couldn't believe what just happened to her.

She snapped back to reality when Kairi had touched her back. Namine flinched.

"I.... I think it's.... best.... not to EVER speak of this again." Namine said almost in a whisper. She started to laugh a little, which made Kairi give her a weird look. Sure, Namine was scared, but in her mind the only way to make this better was with laughter. And it did. Soon after the look, Kairi began laughing too.

"Alright, but I'm still gonna hit them for you, okay?" Kairi said with a grin. "Anyways, I found the perfect dress, so let's finish changing."

Namine nodded then stood up and finished putting on the dress. She decided to keep her white choker on because it didn't get dirty, and it still looked pretty good with the dress. Kairi only took a few minutes to change, fix her hair and do a little make up. Namine gasped at how beautiful she looked. Kairi told Namine to come here and she fix her make up and hair. She replaced her crown with a white bow.

"Namine, you look great!" Kairi exclaimed and gave her new friend a hug.

"You do too, Kairi!" Namine replied, returning the hug in the process.

Kairi unlocked the room and escorted Namine out towards the stairs.

"Sora! Roxas! Get over here! Pronto!" Kairi shouted.

The girls heard some shuffling and they boys wispering back and forth whose fault it was for the whole door scene.

"Kairi! I swear Roxas made me open the door! He said that if I didn't, He'd beat me!" Was the first voice that the girls heard followed by "God, stop being like that Sora! You were getting bored sitting downstairs without Kairi!" They arguing with each other again while they walked to the stairs. They kept eye contact with each other while arguing so they didn't notice the girls.

Kairi whistled while looking down at them from the top of the stairs and said "Sora, I know for a fact that Roxas would only beat you up if you were being an idiot, stop lying!"

The boys looked up at the girls and blushed faintly. Kairi's dress was a strapless pink dress that faded into a white color. The dress ended just below her knees and looked almost like flower petals on the hem. At the top of her dress was a medium sized bow on the right. Namine's new dress was lite blue with one strap on the left side. The dress ended just above her knees while the hem of the dress looked like lace but wasn't. It has little white beads along the lace-like hem.

The boys in unison just said "Whoa..."

Kairi and Namine walked down the stairs.

"Alright, boys! We're going to a party!" She said with a giggle as she waltz by them.

"Wha..." Was all that could leave Roxas' mouth. He has still mainly staring at Namine.

"Really!? AWESOME!" Sora jumped up at the thought of it.

"Wha.... Wait! What about _our_ clothes?" Finally left Roxas' mouth. He realized that he was still staring at Namine so he finally looked away. Namine felt her cheeks get warm when he was staring.

"Its not like you _can't_ wear my dad's suits. GO CHANGE INTO THEM NOW!" The boys ran upstairs in a hurry, they didn't want to be on Kairi's bad side. Namine was amazed that they would follow her orders so obediently. Kairi flashed a smile to Namine "Boys are so easy!~" She said with a giggle. Then she went into the kitchen to tell her mom about going to a party and that she'll be back in a while.

The boys were ready (and looking sharp) so they all left in Sora's car.

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**Again, Please Review!**


	5. Just Like A Painting

**Just Like a Painting**

**Closest time the next update will be is Friday, I'll be on a trip till then.**

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Namine had told Sora that he needed to park a few blocks away which made him get in a fit about his car not being good enough for some rich party. Kairi kept telling him to shut up only to finally get him to shut up by promising at least one dance together. The talk of dancing then led to Sora demanding Roxas and Namine to dance together. Namine wasn't really paying attention to Sora, since all the times they'd talked so far it was a bit... weird. She just stared up at the sky while listening to the gossip her new friends were flinging back and forth.

"Aw, I should've invited Riku!" Sora suddenly stated.

"You know he probably wouldn't come. There'd be no point." Kairi replied as if she knew that question was going to happen during the short walk. Namine was a few paces ahead of the other three which made Kairi catch up.

"Naaaaaaaami!~ How can you be so quiet? We're going to this amazing birthday party for you!" The red head squealed. Sora felt the need to not be behind Kairi so he caught up too.

"Seriously! Do you think we'd embarrass you or something?" Sora said with a grin. Roxas was now the only one behind the others. So he decided he catch up too.

"She'd probably get embarrassed because of you!" The blond boy chimed in.

Namine knew what she was going to say, but she was unsure if it would come out right. "I was just thinking how fun it is to be with people like you guys." She turned to head to face Kairi and Sora who were on her right side and smiled. She turned her head the other way towards her left--where Roxas was walking and gave him a brighter smile than the one she just gave.

They had reached the building where the party was and Namine stopped and turned to the others.

"Alright, while all of you are in there, _please_ don't mention anything about your social classes. If you do, you'll get kicked out immediately. Besides that, my father would most likely ruin your families. So please." Namine begged. She didn't want her friends to ever have something like that happen. They all gave her a nod and she entered the building from the same side door that she had left.

Quietly, one by one, they trailed into the building from that side door. When they entered the room, all three of the pairs of eyes widened. Kairi couldn't stop gasping so Sora went off to get her some water. Namine noticed Roxas was just kind of standing there, staring off at the people. To her it seemed like he was trying to see if he could see anyone he knew from magazines.

The minute Namine was noticed, she was swamped again. All she could hear was "Miss Namine, where have you been?", "What a beautiful dress!", "Who are those people with her?", "Are you alright Miss Namine?". She kept looking around for Kairi, Sora and Roxas and finally spotted them. The blond tried to free herself from the sea of people but realized the only way to do that was to answer their questions.

She raised her soft voice and said, "Ex-Excuse me! I'm sorry for the inconvenience that I may have cause. I had gone to the restroom and on the way back I felt a little light headed so I went into one of the rooms here. I had already arranged to change my dress half way through the evening. Please, I hope you all accept my humble apology." She knew exactly how to quell the noise of the people-- tell them what they wanted to hear. Namine felt that these people were more simple minded than mice, so that excuse would be enough to tide them over.

The people scattered a bit, but few still lingered. She chatted a bit, then waved at her friends. She pointed at them, then continued to speak to the random rich people. The trio had no idea what Namine was doing but soon she had walked towards them.

"I am so sorry. I thought that this would happen, but I didn't think it would be that bad." She sighed.

Kairi understood and nodded with acceptance. Namine stayed with them for a few more minutes to show them where everything would be, and to point out a few key people. She was then dragged away by other big company owners who wanted to introduce her to their sons. This continued for almost an hour. The whole time, she was a bit out of it, always glance over that the three having so much fun at the party. Namine was getting a bit tired because it was sometime close to 11 pm. She suddenly felt a presence behind her and a poke on her back. She spun around to see Roxas.

"Sorry gentlemen, do you think I could borrow Miss Namine?" He said, sounding very high-class.

"Ah yes, We have had her for a while, haven't we?" The old men said with a chuckle.

"Thank you." He said again with a bow.

Roxas grabbed her wrist and brought her to the large garden in the back. He didn't let go of her until they were near the large fountain that was the centerpiece of the garden. He sat her down on one of the many benches scattered about.

Namine was a bit confused as to what was going on with him. Although she was also getting fairly confused with herself for being able to trust someone so much even though they 'just met'. He had his back turned to her, staring off into the water of the fountain. It was silent, except for the occasional faint chirping sound from a cricket.

"Uh..." Namine felt like she needed to say something.

"You looked really tired. I figured I'd help you out." He had turned his head slightly so Namine could see his profile. She sighed, she was kind of worried he'd try something.

"Thank you.... Roxas." She gave a smile, even though she figured he couldn't see it. His face had turned back to its original position, looking towards the water. Again the silence returned.

Namine could look anywhere, but her eyes stayed on the blond boy currently in front of her. The way the lights and the water in the fountain hit him... It was like she couldn't take her eyes off. Like an amazing painting.

"Hey Nami..." She heard. In a way, it shocked her because it had been silent. "I think I can still hear the music." The voice continued but she was still watching the boy in front of her intensely. The girl noticed the boy's head move slightly, this time up a little. The boy then turned completely around, revealing the face of the water-watcher, like Namine didn't know who it was. The body was moving closer to hers but, in a way, she didn't realize it was.

"Would you like to dance?" Said the voice she kept hearing. A hand had appeared directly in front of her. She blinked a few times and looked up, to see who was there, like she had completely forgotten she was with Roxas. Her eyes met his, and without thinking she took his hand. He pulled her up to where she was standing. He moved one hand behind her back, as if to make sure she wouldn't leave or get taken away. He adjusted his other hand-- the one that he was holding her hand with-- so that he held it with care. Namine didn't know what she was doing... she had slid her free hand around Roxas' back and pressed her face to his chest. She could hear his heart beat, it was actually sort of loud.

Slowly they danced, Namine couldn't hear music though, only His heartbeat. Her mind was blank. The blond girl started to faintly hear what sounded like humming. The song that was being hummed... She couldn't place it, but it sounded familiar to her. The way the voice was... Very soothing and loving. Namine wondered who was humming it. Slowly, she lifted her head off of the boy's warm chest to look up and realize it was him humming. They made eye contact. She could feel her face getting closer to the boy. She closed her eyes, not realizing what she was doing. She could feel his breath so close, so warm.

"HEY YOU TWO!~" Namine's eyes flung open and she pushed herself away from Roxas. _What.... What just happened? Did we..... WHAT? No.... I couldn't have! I 'just met' him! I couldn't have done that! There's no such thing as love at first sight! ABSOLUTELY NO WAY. I was.... I was just caught up in the moment! Yeah! That must be it! _Were the thoughts that soon raced into the blond girl's head. She looked over in the direction that the voice who woke her up from her daze was in to realize it was Kairi. _Thank you soooo much Kairi! You saved me!~_ Came into her mind when she saw the red head. She looked over at Roxas who... looked just as confused as she did then ran towards Kairi-- not desperately or anything though.

"Kairi!" The blond exclaimed.

"Heeeeey...." She looked towards Roxas in the distance then glanced back at Namine. "Soooo.... whose that guy over there?~ Anyone I should know about? Huh?" She said with a wink and a sparkle in her eye.

Namine looked back at Roxas who had turned back around, looking at the fountain. _Maybe its best if she didn't know..._ "Huh? He's just one of the many people here."

"Sure~" The red teased. "Uh, anyways, Its getting late so me and Sora were gonna go, we wanted to see if Roxas needed a ride... But we haven't seen him... Have you?"

Namine could feel her cheeks get warm and said, "Hmm.... Nope. I'll go look for him" And she ran back towards the garden that now had people in it.

"Hm...~" Kairi said, mainly to herself.

Namine ran up to Roxas but as soon as they made eye contact, both faces when bright red. _Good thing its dark...._

"U...Um... Roxas.... A-About... Just now..." Her face felt even hotter.

He turned his face to the ground. "I don't really know... what exactly just happened. Sorry." The blond boy then turned and proceeded to walk towards the building.

_Wh-What...? _Namine was a little mad after hearing that but she had to tell him what Kairi told her, "Ah, Wait! Kairi told me she and Sora were going to leave soon and wanted to see if you'd need a ride!" She shouted at him.

He turned his head slightly again and said "Thanks Nami! Well anyways, see you on Monday!" He shouted back and continued walking.

".... See you on Monday..." She repeated to herself not understanding what he meant.

Roxas took the offer from Sora and Kairi and went home after the long night. He just sat in the back while Sora and Kairi were talking back and forth about seeing Namine on Monday and how amazing the party was. (since they apparently went to the same school too.)

_Aw man, Roxas... What did you do... _Were his main thoughts the whole drive back.

**

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Namine doesn't listen when people talk to her does she?~**

**Please Review!**


	6. High School Never Ends

**High School Never Ends**

**Whee! I'm back! This chapter turned out kinda really long. Sorry. I could've split it in two again but I really wanted to just keep the whole school day in one chapter.**

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Namine opened her eyes and looked over at her clock. _'5:45... ugh... Please just 15 more minutes..._' She then heard something that sounded like yelling. '_Oh great.... someone is angry this morning... I'd better just get up.' _Namine sat up and looked around as if not sure where she was. _'Okay my dresser is.....' _She turned her head to the left_ 'That way...?' _(Namine isn't really a morning person.) She got up and walked in that direction.

Namine's room was huge. And white. Very white. Everything was white in her room except for a few traces of color like some light blue every here and there. She had a single small blue pillow on her bed and some more blue on her large table. The table was fairly out of place in the room, but it was the only place that she would draw, color, or do homework on. She had a large window on one wall and a balcony on the other. Large white curtains hung from both. On her balcony she had an easel for painting and a white chair. Back in her room was a large, empty white bookshelf except for the sketch books in it. Some of her picture also hung on it or the walls. She had a wardrobe and a dresser but only used the dresser. Next to her wardrobe was a tall, white, hanging birdcage. In it was a little doll that looked fairly similar to Namine. (**an/: **like the one in CoM.) She had a bathroom that connected to her room with an enormous circular mirror in it. Her bathtub was also fairly large. So was her shower. Other than that, she had a bed. Her room looked fairly empty because it was so large.

Anyways, she proceeded to her dresser to grab her school clothes then went to the bathroom. Her clothes were put down on a counter as she undressed and got into the shower. While she was in there she was thinking over in her head what Roxas had meant by _'see you on Monday.' _And why she acted the way she did that night. _'I do NOT believe in Love at First Sight. There is absolutely no such thing! And besides that... Ugh it just doesn't work like that! Nothing can go right that way.'_ Namine really didn't take much time showering and quickly got out. She plugged in her hair dryer and began drying. When she was done she got dressed. She didn't really do much with her hair other than bring most of it to the right side and put some white bobby pins on her bangs to keep them out of her face. She brushed her teeth then went back into her room for her tie. The blond girl tied her tie then sat down on her bed where her socks were. After she got them on, she went downstairs for breakfast and her shoes. Namine was still thinking of what Roxas meant and if she did see him today, how she would react. Besides that, she was not looking forward to school-- she never did.

Down the stairs the blond went, heading towards the dining hall. It was just as large as Namine's room. She looked around for her seat, which was white. She spotted it and sat down. One of the many maids came out with a silver platter with some biscuits, pancakes, sausages, and eggs on it. Another had come out with three different pitchers; one with milk, one with water and another with orange juice. They set the food down near Namine then quickly left. _'I wish they'd stay...' _Namine looked around the large room, trying to spot another person. _'It's kinda lonely here...' _The blond took some pancakes and a sausage then poured herself some milk in one cup, and some orange juice in another. She ate fairly fast and went back to her room to finish getting ready.

Back in her room, Namine glanced at her clock that read 6:38. Namine searched for her shoes, only to find them in the bathroom near the tub. She slipped them on and grabbed her bag that was next to her bed. '_Alright, let's get this over with.'_ She thought and was downstairs again, waiting for the car to come. It only took a few minutes for it and the blond was off to school with a tired look on her face.

**X**

When Namine got there, she automatically felt the glares. She stood out like a sore thumb, because of her father. He paid the school large sums of money for Namine so her demanded that she get a special uniform. Which it was. Her uniform was was slightly different, but it still made people stare. Her tie and skirt were a very light blue color. (**an/:** like Kairi's uniform but lighter. Other female students wore a dark blue tie and skirt. Male students wore dark blue pants and tie. White button up shirts are the shirt part of the uniform for both.) Her tie also had a special symbol on it. (**an/: **A small Nobodies symbol) Her shirt's sleeves went to her elbows, which wasn't allowed, usually the sleeves were down to the wrists, at the shoulders, or rolled up to be sleeve-less. She also wore white thigh-high socks, while everyone else had to wear knee-high black socks. Namine had gotten the nick-name of _The White Princess _at school because of this. The blond was teased daily too, but wasn't able to prove any of it. Which then gave her the title of _Attention Seeker _by some of the faculty.

Namine just continued to walk down the hall, not lifting her head from the ground. She didn't want to make eye contact with anyone because she could hear them all whispering about her. Namine got special permission from her first hour teacher to let her in long before class would start, because she was afraid of the teasing. Her first hour teacher was pretty cool, he actually knew about Namine and the teasing, and tried to defend her too. But he was called a liar and accused of having a student-teacher-relationship with Namine. Which led to a lot of arguing with the school board. From that, Namine also got the title of being _The Teacher's Slut_. Namine hated it because he was the kind of teacher that would never do anything like that to his students. But he took it fine enough because he knew it was just all the other students who started the rumor to get him fired for helping her.

Namine pulled out a sketchbook from her bag and began drawing. After a half hour, the bell rang so she stopped. She was drawing a swing set. The blond didn't want to get teased so she stuffed her sketchbook into her bag and pulled out her Social Studies book and homework. She continued to sit there while Mr. Highwind took role. When he was done, he continued his rant from yesterday about women staying out of 'man-talk'. Even though he was a pretty cool teacher, he swore, a lot. But that was okay with the class, they were all a bunch of Sophmores anyways so cuss words didn't really affect them.

About twenty minutes into class, an announcement was made over the intercom:

**"NAMINE BLANC PLEASE REPORT TO WHERE NOTHING GATHERS. I REPEAT, NAMINE BLANC PLEASE REPORT TO WHERE NOTHING GATHERS."**

Namine stood, while Mr. Highwind just nodded. She walked out with her stuff while hearing snickers and jokes about her on her way out. She swore that someone had thrown something at her too. _'Uh... Let's see... where is... Where Nothing Gathers...? What's up with these room names. Why can they just be numbers?'_

After wondering around her school for 5 minutes she finally found the room. The door was black and the room gave off a... strange feeling. The blond shut her eyes and entered.

"Hey Nami! Took you long enough to get here!" She heard from a voice that sounded strangely familiar so she open her eyes. It was Roxas. Her eyes widened a little.

"Roxas?!" She ran up and was about to give him a hug but stopped herself. Her cheeks went red and she turned her gaze to the ground.

"Um.. So why was I called here?" She noticed his pants and decided to look at him. "And what are you wearing..?"

"Oh! I'm part of Org. XIII." He said as he pointed to his black pants and black coat. "And... You were called here so you could meet the gang!" In a way, Namine was happy that Roxas wasn't acting weird about the other night. She was nervous that she was though.

The blond girl looked around to realize that there were 5 other bodies in the room other than her's and Roxas'. Unintentionally Namine said "What's Org. XIII..?"

A boy with blue-ish hair lifted his head from the book he was reading and mumbled "Us."

"Yup, Yup! That's Ussss!~" Said another blond with a mullet-like hairstyle.

Namine felt like she wasn't properly getting an answer so she changed her question. "So what do you guys do?"

"Psh, excuse me!" Namine felt a glare and turned to notice another blond hanging on a pink headed person.

"Oh.. I'm sorry! Guys and girls?" She said trying to correct herself.

The blond and the pink head crossed the room. There was something about the pink headed one that terrified Namine. The blond sat down and yelled "I'm the only girl here, stupid! Well, besides you. Seriously why'd Roxas invite_ The White Princ--"_

"Shut up Larxene!" Roxas whipped his head around quick and glared at her. Namine just looked down, feeling her face get red.

A red head was sitting on a couch and began to answer Namine's question. "Well Org. XIII is a group of students and teachers. We're pretty much like the student council except we enforce rules. And give punishments." He said the last part with a laugh. " The one over there reading is Zexion, He's the same grade as you and Roxas. That chick over there with the bad attitude is Larxene, The one with the mullet is Demyx, I'm Axel. We're all Juniors. The pink haired dude is Marluxia, and the big burly looking one is Lexaeus. They're both Seniors." With each introduction they all gave a little wave except Zexion who was reading and Larxene who just scowled. Namine didn't even notice Laxaeus because he was so quiet.

She was about to introduce herself when Axel stopped her. "We all already know who you are. Namine Blanc, Heiress. Hated at school by everyone, thought to be an attention seeker by most teachers. Come back from some classes with new bruises or red marks. Hides in Art room majority of the time. Afraid to confront her father. Mother is--"

"STOP!" Shouted the little blond. She didn't really realize her eyes had started to water a bit. She turned her gaze to the floor again. Her face was hot. "...Please... Just stop..." She whispered, now clinging to Roxas' coat sleeve.

"Uhh... Yeah... Axel. Why don't we just get down to why she's here...?" He said while patting Namine softly on the back. He gave Axel a look as if begging him to not continue.

"Er... Anyways, Namine you're here because everyone in this room is now your bodyguard." Said the red head, staring at the blond.

Namine didn't think she heard correctly. "Wha... Huh?" She had also let go of Roxas.

"Your father has made us, Org. XIII, watch over you. Roxas is getting transferred into most of your classes, Zexion also. You'll also be having a class with Demyx too." He continued.

"My... My father..? Oh god, I'm so sorry... I can't believe that he would..." The tears had stopped a minute ago but she could feel them coming again. She brought her gaze up to Roxas' face and gave him a rather sad look like she was saying 'Please don't do this, refuse please.'

Roxas looked down at her and said "We didn't have to do this, but I convinced them too. The school has been trying to get us to do this for a while, because of your father and them getting sick of hearing about the newest injury. The others said they'll help, so trust them." He gave her one of his kind smiles.

With that a rush of emotions came over Namine; relief to have at school, worry for the others, fear of even more teasing, etc. She thought the relief feeling she had was the strongest because for some reason she rushed into give Roxas a hug as soon as he finished. "Thank you so much, Roxas" She whispered.

Roxas' face went just as red as Axel's hair but he couldn't bring himself to pry her off of him.

Namine started to hear a bit of giggles that sounded like Axel, Demyx, Larxene and Marluxia. She then heard Larxene squeal "Get a room you two!"

The little blond realized she was still hugging Roxas and decided to finally let go. Her face had also become just as bright as Axel's hair. "Ah...." _'Remember in an embarrassing situation... Its best to laugh.'_

She began laughing. Soon enough the others joined in too. When things had settled down, everyone sat down and were going over how to stop the teasing. They finally decided it would be best to transfer Roxas and Zexion immediately. That took about an hour. Because Namine didn't really want to go back yet, they let her stay in Where Nothing Gathers for another half hour to get to know her protectors better.

It was already third period by the time her and Roxas got back to her class. Zexion was going to be in her next class. He only transferred two periods while Roxas transferred four. The teacher introduced him and sat him in the back next to Namine. He looked over at her desk that had things carved and scibbled in permanent marker like "_YOU FILTHY RICH ASS SCUM" _or _"TEACHERS' SLUT" _or _"Bitch!" _or _"Stop stealing my boyfriend!!" _The last one had made Roxas frown. _'I highly doubt that Namine actually tries to steal your boyfriend...'_

Roxas was lucky he didn't go into the girls bathroom, that's where it was even worse. Anyways, he sat down and took out some paper. He wrote _"So why is your desk all gross like that..?"_ And passed it to her. She frowned a little and wrote back "_They got sick and tired of replacing it." _and gave it back. _"Ohh..."_ He sat there for a minute, thinking of what to write. _"Are you gonna sit with me at lunch?" _Then gave her the note.

_"I guess I could... I usually just sit in the art room during lunch... So people don't throw things at me..." _Again she gave it back. His eyes widened after reading it. _"People... People throw things at you?! No one has stopped them?!" _He wrote quick then gave it to her. "_Nope. Usually people either laugh at me for it, take pictures, or get others to throw things at me." _She gave it back again, not really paying attention to anything. Roxas couldn't believe that the teachers wouldn't stop this or anything. _"Alright well, I've got an awesome surprise for you at lunch!" _He sent back, trying to get her happy since she now seemed fairly sad. Namine smiled a little and scribbled something back. They kept passing the note the whole period and didn't realize that the bell had rung. They collected their stuff and headed out for lunch.

"So..." Namine said slowly. "Where do you go for lunch? And what's this surprise?" Namine was really curious. She didn't even realize the stares she was getting. Although she did feel like she got hit by something again. She flinched. Before he answered her, she swung his head back and glared at every single person who was in that hallway. That made them disperse rather quickly. He laughed a little then turned his head back and simply said "To the drama hall! And that will remain a surprise until we get there!"

The blond was excited for the Drama Hall. She'd never been there, but there was a surprise there for her. When they got there Namine looked around and frowned a bit. She didn't see anything that looked like a surprise to her, just more stares. Roxas must've seen something that Namine didn't because he was waving for someone to come their way. Namine finally saw who he was waving at-- It was Sora and Kairi, along with someone taller with silver hair. Her face lit up so much Roxas couldn't help but laugh. Kairi picked up her pace and ran at Namine to glomp her. The red head knocked the blond to the floor with a huge smile on her face. "NAMI!!!!!" She exclaimed.

She quickly got off Namine and stood up, giving her friend a hand to get up too. "Wow, so you have a special uniform? Like Roxas' almost." Namine was a little shocked, Kairi was more bossy the other night but she was being super happy right now. "Ah, Nami, this is our friend Riku! He's a Junior. But yeah, we've been friends since we were little." Namine gave Riku a wave, _'Wow, he's really good looking...' _she thought to herself. "So Nami! You gonna be eating with us from now on?" Sora said with a grin.

"Um..." She glanced over at Roxas who gave her a smile. "I guess so." Kairi noticed this and smiled to herself.

"Let's go introduce you to the rest of the gang then." They walked down the Drama Hall out onto a porch. There was three tables, each with a bunch of Sora's, Kairi's, Riku's, and Roxas' friends there. It was like one big clique. A girl with brown hair came running up to Kairi and grabbed onto her arm. "Kairi! What took so long! Seriously I was worried! Tidus was trying to get me and Rikku to leave so he could flirt with Yuna! Can you believe that! And oh my god! Want to know what the Witch did today?! I can't believe her with her special uniform. Ugh!" The whole time the brown haired girl was talking, everyone else was trying to get her to shut up. Kairi's face went a little red but the brunette continued "Hey! Who is your friend?" Then her eyes widened.

Kairi yanked the brown haired girl off her to introduce Namine, whose eyes and nose were starting to look red. "Uh... Selphie.... This is Namine...." Selphie grabbed Kairi's arm again and dragged her back to the table.

"Kairi! How could you bring that.... GIRL here! She's a total slut! She probably couldn't even graduate without her daddy's help! She's so pathetic. How could you even hang out with her, your rep will totally drop! Ughhh!!" She whispered just loud enough for Namine and the rest of the teens around to hear. Namine could feel it, the tears again. She hated how much of a cry baby she was being.

Tidus spoke up "Actually, I just met her during that thing I had to go to for my dad on Saturday. She was pretty cool." Namine didn't realize people from that party actually went to her school. It was weird to just find that out. But it made her smile a little.

"And besides that Selphie, what about that saying, don't judge a book by its cover." Kairi said and walked back towards Namine, Roxas and Sora. Riku had just sat down, not wanting to really get into a fight over someone he just met. _'So much for a good first meeting.'_ Thought Roxas, Kairi and Sora. Namine made herself stop crying, she hated feeling like the victim. She faked a smile and said "Well... I guess its understandable. If you don't want me here, I'll be fine back in the art room. Seriously. I've been alone for a while now so its really no big deal."

She turned around and looked at Roxas saying 'I don't think I can handle this right now.' with her eyes. Then began walking but stopped and turned her head. "But please don't mistake this, I did NOT choose to wear this. I was Forced. I Don't sleep around with people so I'm NOT some slut. I'm sick of hearing rumors about me. Especially when I can't say anything bad back for my father's sake. You think it is easy to be an heiress? No. I'm stuck forever captured." Her eyes burned with tears and she walked out. Her throat started to hurt now. While going through some of the halls she could feel the stares and continued to feel things getting thrown at her. Suddenly she just snapped. "YOU!" She pointed at some girl pointing at her and whispering to a boy next to her. "DO YOU EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME? HONESTLY? OR DO YOU ONLY KNOW THE RUMORS?!" The girl continued to point and began laughing "YOU? Are you serious? You're just some dirty slut who sleeps around with every guy she knows. I bet you take after your mother! Who knows how much your father pays to keep you here. I bet you've gotten kicked out of every school you've ever been too!" When she finished others began laughing and chanting _"The White Slut!"_ Namine took her bag and threw it at a group of boys chanting along and lunged at the girl. The girl began shrieking "BITCH GET THE HELL OFF OF ME! I'M GONNA SUE YOUR WHOLE FAMILY TILL THEIR BROKE!" Namine just kept punching her face untill she had to close her eyes from all the tears. He punches started to slow as she whispered "Please.... Just stop all of these lies.. Mom.........." And Namine stopped. The girl threw Namine off of her and against some lockers. Two boys held her against them as the girl began putting on as many rings as she had fingers. She brought her face right next to Namine's and whispered "I'm hope you enjoy this as much as I will." Then gave a scary smile and giggle. But Namine still had her eyes shut, not really moving, like she'd given up. The girl began pounding her fists into Namine. She got Namine's face a few times before she heard what sounded like Roxas, Axel, and Demyx telling everyone to get to the office this instant. The boys let go of Namine and she just sort of fell to the ground. There was blood and tears all over her face. Blood was also on her shirt.

Axel grabbed her bag and Roxas picked up Namine. They headed to the Nurse's office while Demyx went to the office for all the other students. Axel set down the bag and left for the office to meet up with Demyx. Roxas carried Namine over to the closest bed and set her down. _'Namine... What happened...' _He thought. He had signed her in then went back to her. The blond boy grabbed a wash cloth and began wiping her blood covered face. Tears were still streaming down her face, like she was having a horrible nightmare. The grabbed some antiboatic creme and put it on her wounds. Gently he placed some bandages over them. Kairi and Sora came in while he was doing this. Kairi couldn't help but burst into tears and run at the bed. The red head said she'd stay with Namine for the rest of the day and that Roxas didn't need to stay. He was sort of hesitant to leave but ended up leaving anyways. The boy felt like it was all his fault that he couldn't protect her. But he wasn't the only one who felt it was their fault, Selphie did too. She came in during one of the breaks when Kairi had got to the bathroom and quietly said "I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have ever judged you."

During this whole thing, Namine was dreaming-- A very sad dream. She knew her mother was there. And Roxas, Sora, and Kairi. She was little, with her mother at the park. She started to play with little Roxas, Sora, and Kairi. Soon she knew it was time to go and looked around for her mother. All she could see was red. Then, one by one they all disappeared; first Sora, then Kairi, then Roxas. Everything just went red. Then the red began to fade to black. White bars encircled her and she couldn't escape. Slowly, the black became liquid and she began to slip through. Until she was smothered by it.

"Namine." She heard. It sounded exactly like her mother.

"Namine." The blond heard again. This time it sounded like Kairi.

"Namine..." Was the final one. For some reason she couldn't place the voice, it was so familiar but so distant at the same time. A white light soon enveloped her and Namine woke up to Roxas and Kairi standing there.

"Wha.... huh? Where am I.....?" The blond girl said quietly.

Kairi hugged her so hard. "Nami!! I was so worried! What happened to you!?"

"You're in the Nurse's Office, Namine." Roxas gave a smile that seemed so relieved.

"Oh.... Uh..." He head started to hurt. "Ugh. My head hurts so much." She put her hand to her head expecting to feel flesh but instead felt a bandage.

"Wha....What happened to me?"

The red head pulled back from Namine and gave her a confused look. "You mean... You don't know what you did?"

"Was it something... bad?" The blond gulped.

"You... Beat the crap out of a junior. She got two of her senior friends to hold you against the wall and she then began beating the crap out of your face. I'm sorry I couldn't...." Roxas was having a hard time finishing his sentence so Kairi got up, she could take the hint, he wanted to be alone with Namine.

As soon as she left he finished, but kept his eyes the ground glaring. As if trying to set it on fire as a distraction. "I'm so.... Namine... I'm so sorry I... Couldn't... Protect you...."

The girl blushed a little, but no one could really tell, because of her bandages. "Roxas.. I don't really know... What happened..." She turned her gaze to the sheets. "But... I feel like you came for me. That's all that matters." She lifted her head to Roxas and gave a smile. He took his gaze off the ground and moved it towards Namine. _'She looks like a beaten angel...' _He thought.

"So... Is something going to happen to me?" Namine said hesitantly.

"I think you get a week suspension. That junior got everyone to say it was your fault and she only got two days." He said in a low voice.

It was quiet for a few minutes. "Hey Roxas... What time is it?" She asked.

"Its... About 3:30" He said glancing at the nurse's clock.

Her eyes widened. "School ended almost 45 minutes ago!" She tried to get up but he kept her down.

"You aren't going anywhere, missy. You can leave when you get discharged!" He said playfully.

Namine pouted a bit "And when's that Mr. Doctor?" She laughed a bit then winced at the pain.

"As soon as I get a good-bye hug!" He said again jokingly.

Namine was shocked a little and her face went a bit red. "A... good-bye.... hug?"

Roxas noticed her uncomfort and decided that it'd be best not to joke like that. "No, no! I'm joking, but uh... do you feel good to walk or anything?"

Namine sighed a bit then tried to stand but quickly sat back down. "Ugh... Too dizzy..."

"Want a piggy-back?"

"Sure?"

He grabbed her bag and let her hop on. She didn't realize she still had some blood on her shirt. Anyways, he walked her down the hall where she heard some people who were still there whisper about PDA. Namine directed the blond boy where she got picked up. She got in the car and apologized to the driver about her being late. She rolled down her window and waved good-bye to Roxas as she drove away. She felt bad for not offering him a ride but her father would never have allowed it. She was already going to get yelled at for her face and she didn't want a second lecture about having a boy he didn't know in his car.

As soon as Namine entered the door she heard her father yell.

_'This is not going to be a fun three hours.'_ She thought to herself while walking into her father's study.

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**Namine lost it..?! As wierd as this sounds, I had fun imagining the fight in my head. Anyways, I had drawn the school uniforms which I'll upload onto my deviantart very soon. Again sorry for the longness and please Review!**


	7. The Chat & The Nap

**The Chat & The Nap**

**I'm working on improving my writing so yay for that!**

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Roxas waved to Namine as she drove away. _'That's really.... weird... Namine doesn't remember beating up that Junior...' _He took his checkered cell phone out of his coat's pocket and began texting Sora. He told Sora to text Kairi and Riku and bring them over to his house as soon as possible.

It took some convincing to get Riku to come to Roxas', mainly for two reasons; one he didn't exactly like Roxas that much, yeah they were friends but out of the four of them, Roxas and Riku fought the most. And secondly, he didn't know Namine at all so he didn't feel inclined to help her at all. Eventually Sora and Kairi convinced him that once Namine acted like herself on birthday, Riku would be friends with her. She was like a toned down (REALLY Toned down) Kairi. By the time Roxas had gotten home (He had to walk since he missed his ride.), Sora, Kairi, and Riku were sitting on his couch eating his chips.

"Hey..! Those were for later!" The blond barked.

"You were taking too long and we were hungry." Sora countered with a smirk.

"Besides, we didn't even eat them all" Said the red head pointing to the bowl of chips. The blond sighed a little with relief then went over to a chair near the couch the others were sitting on.

"So... We're here because of today with Nami, right?" Kairi mumbled as she got closer to the end of her sentence.

"Yeah... You know how our school has a surveillance system hooked up?" Roxas asked as he took a few chips from the bowl. The others nodded.

"Well, we don't have the entire thing, but parts of the fight was caught in the right corner of the screen." Roxas took a DVD out of his bag titled "N FIGHT" and put it in his DVD player. As he pressed play he pointed to the north east corner of the screen. The group heard _"DO YOU EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME? HONESTLY? OR DO YOU ONLY KNOW THE RUMORS?!", _which they could tell was Namine, then heard another girl-- the Junior scream back _"YOU? Are you serious? You're just some dirty slut who sleeps around with every guy she knows. I bet you take after your mother! Who knows how much your father pays to keep you here. I bet you've gotten kicked out of every school you've ever been too!" _Kairi's eyes widened when she heard people chanting _"The White Slut!" _over and over. Sora could feel his mouth drop when he saw a bag getting thrown then what he presumed to be the Junior and a bit of Namine's head. All three noticed how Namine just kind of stopped moving. (Roxas had already watched the DVD back in Where Nothing Gathers with the other Org. XIII members.) The lockers that Namine was thrown at were more on screen and they watched as their friend got held down and beaten. Kairi was shaking, still with her eyes widened. The red head knew what happened but felt even worse now that she saw it. Even Riku was pretty shocked that the little blond had that kind of fight in her.

Roxas stopped the DVD and turned his face back to the three on the couch. Watching it again made him angry that he couldn't protect her. His face was a combination of anger and seriousness. He waited a minute so Kairi would calm down before continuing the conversation.

"We need to do something, and we've got a week until Namine gets back. All the other Org. members will help out. First things first, Lunch..." Roxas looked down a little.

"She'll be sitting with us, still. Selphie doesn't know Namine, I think once she does, they'll be friends." The red head interrupted.

"Alright, that's solved. Classes... Those are also temperarally solved. Me and Zexion are in her classes." Roxas continued.

"We need to fix the girl's bathroom and all of Namine's desks." Sora added in to the list of issues.

"And her uniform." Riku stated.

"About that... I was thinking of a special Org. uniform for her... Change her skirt to regular color but she'll get a white Org. coat. They'll know that she's a special student, but also under the protection of Org. XIII. But..."

"We can't spoil her with kindness." Riku mumbled.

"Well I will!" Kairi announced with fierce determination. Sora laughed but he quickly stopped, right now was a serious mood. Roxas still glared at him a little.

Trying to make up for his little outburst Sora brought back the conversation. "Namine'll need an escort to and from classes."

"That's solved, I'll go with her." Roxas remarked. Kairi giggled a bit, as serious as this issue was, she couldn't help but feel excited at the thoughts of improvement between Roxas and Namine in this short time. When the blond boy hear the giggle his face went a bit red. He just turned his face down and tried to continue.

"So.... uh..."

"Well.... Who sits with us.... Tidus, Yuna, Rikku, Yuffie, Axel, Zexion, Demyx.... Sometimes Larxene... Wakka a few times, but he's usually with Lulu. Besides that they're both Seniors. Zack hasn't sat with us much either... Actually I haven't seen him much. Is he busy or something?" Sora took over because of Roxas' sudden inability to speak.

"Zack's dad is training him to become VP at his company." Riku interrupted again.

"Well, anyways... Selphie's there too. When Namine gets back next week we should have a proper welcoming lunch party for her." Kairi continued where Sora left off.

The room was silent for a few moments. Roxas looked at his TV again still paused with a shot of Namine on it.

"Ya know... It was like... Namine was a different person. Or maybe she just snapped. But that didn't really seem like the Namine we know. Even though we don't exactly know her well... But still... That's odd." Roxas said in a low voice, not lifting his eyes off the screen, nor paying attention to what he was actually saying.

"Yeah... Like if regular Namine was White or Pure Namine, then this was Black or Dark Namine..." Sora looked at the screen too.

"So... Shiro Nami and Kuro Nami?" Kairi questioned. The red head was 1/4 Japanese so she decided she wanted to learn the langauge.

"....Yeah in a way... Maybe that Junior said something she shouldn't have?" He rewound the DVD to the beginning when the junior was talking.

"Namine... Seems to have something wrong with what happened to her mother... Maybe when the girl said what she did about her... something made Namine loose it?" Roxas asked out loud for all to hear, but was mainly saying it for himself.

"Nami's... Mom? What happened to her...?" Kairi didn't want to seem persistent.

"Uh... Maybe she'll tell you... I don't really think she'd like to hear that you found out from me, who found out from school records. She really doesn't seem to like talking about it or hearing it be mentioned though. Just give her time?" Roxas refused to look at the girl when he spoke.

"So... Something bad happened." Kairi wasn't stupid, by the way he spoke she knew one of two things; her mother either left or died. Or both, but she decided to drop it.

After about an hour more of talking the group dispersed with a plan for the following days while Namine was out. Each day, one of them would visit her, then on the last two days the whole group would meet her and take her some place. Then on the day she'd go back, they'd walk with her in the halls. Riku even agreed to it because he had become interested in Namine, just from the stories they told and the video they saw.

_**X**_

Namine was yelled at for three hours straight by her father. She was sent to her room without food, but she really didn't care much, she didn't feel up to eating anyways. Her face hurt too much. The blond lied down on her bed and tried to sleep but as soon as she did, she'd wake up because of a nightmare. After doing this for almost an hour she sat up and walked to her balcony. She sat in front of her easel and began painting. She wasn't really painting anything in general, just her feelings. By the time she finished it was nightfall. The picture was of a huge heart-shaped moon. Yellows and whites from the moon faded into blues and blacks of the night sky which faded into pinks and reds. White was speckled all across the picture for stars. Namine was actually fairly surprised with her work and smiled. She didn't realize how much paint she had gotten on her school blouse and decided to take a bath.

She made sure the water was right then twisted her hair up into her towel. Before she had gone in she made sure to take off the bandages. She wasn't in for long until she was out. Her dream-- No... Her memory, was one that would never leave her mind.

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_It was raining and little 10 year old Namine was staring out her window waiting for someone. She saw lights, then heard the door._

_"Namine! Namine! Come here! Please!" Her mother sounded frantic. She didn't really know why but went to her mother anyways.  
"What's wrong Momma?" Said the little blond clinging to her mother's dress._

_"Namine, we need to leave! Right now." She kept looking back at the clock and door._

_"Alright Momma, but do we need to tell Daddy? What about my stuff?" Questioned the girl, now a little afraid._

_"Don't worry about your things, Namine! We need to go!" She picked up the little girl and tried to get out the door._

_The two rushed to a car and her mother gave directions to someplace that Namine didn't remember... Something like... Stardust Drive... Something with a Star..._

_The rain was strong and the driver could barely see. Namine noticed her mother constantly looking out of the back window._

_"What's going on Momma...?" She looked up at her mother trying to get her attention. "... Momma...?"_

_There was a swerve, then a loud sound. Everything just sort of went white for Namine. When she finally opened her eyes, the rain was still pouring but people were surrounding them. She tried to sit up but something was holding her bottom haft down. She didn't really understand what was going on, her vision was mainly blurred. One thing she could see though was yellow, pale yellow and red. Red everywhere, even on herself. The instant she saw the yellow though, she knew it was her mother. She inched herself closer to her mothers body but was having a hard time because of whatever it was that was keeping her down._

_"Na... Mine..." She heard whispered "I'm.... s.... S-sorry... Pl..." Blood was trickling down her mother's mouth. "I.....It wasn..... father's.... fault.... pl... P-please... Don't blame..." Namine couldn't really see her mother's blue eyes. "I.... I'll... Always.... always.. love..." But before she could finish, the whispers were silent._

_Namine could hear screams from people but she zoned them out, she just kept looking at the body of her bloody mother. _

_"Momma...?" Namine was drenched in rain and blood so no one could tell that she was starting to cry._

_"Momma?" She continued, along with the tears. She tried to shake the lifeless body with one arm while trying to get whatever was on her off._

_"MOMMA! WAKE UP! PLEASE MOMMA?!" Namine was screaming hystarically. She turned herself to what was holding her down and finally really looked at it. It was her mother's arms. Namine began sobbing even more, she shut her eyes._

_She heard sirens then felt someone lifting her. "NO! MOMMA! NOOOOOO!" She screamed. She flailed her arms trying to reach for the body she was just next to._

_The next thing Namine remembered was waking up in a hospital room with her father looming over her. For a split second, she thought she saw her mother, but soon that vision faded. She sat up a little and looked at her father._

_"Daddy... Where's Momma?" Was the first thing she said to her father._

_He gave a bitter look and turned around. "Your mother... She's gone." Then he proceeded to the exit of the room._

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Namine opened her eyes, they felt wet. She had no idea how long she'd been in the water, but it was now cold. She couldn't believe she had that dream again. _'Maybe I need therapy again...' _She thought to herself.

Namine got in her shower to warm herself up. When she was done, she reapplied her bandages and put on a nightgown. She took out her blue iPod nano and hopped in bed. Before she actually tried to sleep she checked the time on her iPod that read 12:24 AM. It took her a few hours to actually get asleep. The blond could feel that she would not be having fun these next few days.

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Finally, Namine's past with her mother is releaved?! *gasp* (Well atleast to the readers anyways... And a few characters that cheated and checked the school records.)**

**Please Review!**


	8. The First Day

**The First Day**

The days will be broken up into chapters. Its short so I decided to get it out quick.

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**By the time Namine woke up the next day, it was almost one in the afternoon. Luckily her father was going to be on a business trip while she was suspended, or these 6 days would be hell. She put on one of her favorite simple white dresses and went downstairs for lunch.

Instead of eating in the dining hall where it was lonely and quiet, Namine went in the kitchen where a bunch of maids and chefs were. On days she had off or days her father wasn't around, Namine would do this because she enjoyed the company of the house's staff. The blond sat herself down next to one of the many counters and asked for some Mac and Cheese. Cooking was one of the only things that Namine would not allow herself to do, every time she tried, something would catch fire-- Even when she wouldn't use the stove, which was weird.

"So Zeke, how's your mom been?" Namine started the conversation today.

"Miss Namine, she's been great. She keeps telling me how she wishes she didn't retire. She says she misses this kitchen." Said the chef named Zeke.

Namine spun around in her chair and looked up. "I miss her. She use to make those cookies for me all the time." Namine looked over at Zeke. "Not that your cooking is bad or anything, her cookies were just the best." She gave a little smile.

"I know, I know, Miss Namine. Her cookies truly are the best, but she refuses to teach me the recipe. How 'bout I ask her to make you some?" Zeke returned a smile.

"You would?" Namine's smile grew. "Will you ask her to put on the--"

"Silver Star Sprinkles?" They both laughed when he finished her sentence.

"Anyways, Miss Namine, Your Mac & Cheese is done. You gonna eat it in here?"

"Yup." Namine always felt like a little girl when she was in the kitchen, she didn't understand why though. Probably because everyone here was so nice. Although, Namine could remember plenty of times when Zeke's mom would shout at her to get out of the fridge, but it was for her own safety.

Namine finished her Mac & Cheese then left with a 'Thank You.' The blond headed back upstairs to the Movie room. It was probably one of the few room besides her own that Namine actually went in. Today she was going to watch _Wrist Cutters._ It had a weird name but the movie itself was a good romance.

_**X**_

At school that day, the Org XIII, Kairi, Sora, and Riku all cleaned Namine's desks. Kairi, Larxene and a few of their friends went into the bathrooms and scrubed the walls clean. They got some paint and were able to paint over some of the writing that wouldn't wash away. Kairi, Yuffie and Selphie had a hard time keeping Larxene there though. The rest of their day was fairly uneventful though. When the day was done, they decided to let Riku visit Namine first. Roxas used his 'powers' as part of the Org. to get Namine's address.

_**X**_

Namine wasn't really expecting company, especially Riku who she didn't even know. One of the maids had let him in, it was apparently fairly easy. When Namine saw Riku in her house her just widened.

"Uh... Riku? How come you're here?" She questioned, trying to hold back her shock.

"Well, everyone decided we wanted to visit you." The silver haired teen replied.

"Everyone..?" Namine looked around the large empty room that only had three bodies in it-- herself, Riku and a maid.

"They'll be visiting over the next few days. I decided to be the first to visit."

"Ohhhh." The blond replied. "Well... Want to go watch a movie? We have a bunch." Namine wasn't really sure what to do with Riku because she honestly didn't know what he liked.

"Where? Here?"

"Yup, we have a mini theater upstairs." Namine didn't realize that she was trying to get him to see her house. When she finally did she just looked down, a little ashamed of herself. "Uh... but we don't have to.."

"Wow, You've got a mini theater? Seriously? Got any good movies? _Quarantine? Little Nicki? Cloverfield? Pan's Labyrinth_?"

Namine was a little surprised that he wasn't judging her for her money. "Uhhhhh.... Yes, No, Yes, Yes. My dad hates Adam Sandler, so he refuses to buy any of his movies. Oh, we've also got _Resident Evil_, _Sweeney Todd_. Oh! Have you ever seen _Funny Games_?" The little blond really liked scary movies.

"_Funny Games_? Is it a comedy or thriller?"

"It's a great thriller, just when you... Gah! I can't reveal it! Just come watch it!" She tugged at the boys arm, trying to get him upstairs. Neither knew each other very well, but movie interests were drawing them together. Namine thought it was a little funny.

Namine brought Riku into the theater and showed him where to sit. She went into the projection room and set up the movie. When she came back, she had popcorn in her hands and two soda.

"Here, I didn't know what you'd want so I just got a Dr. Pepper for you and a Sprite for me. Is that okay?" She whispered.

"Yeah, thanks, Dr. Peppers' my favorite." He replied.

__

When the movie was over Riku was just shocked. He couldn't believe the ending.

"THAT was crazy! I never thought that those two would do that! Seriously!!" She could tell the shock, even in his voice.

"I know right? It's got one of those totally out there endings, one you never expect."

"Wow. That was great though, it was suspenseful throughout!"

"Exactly! People think I'm morbid for liking this movie but.... It was so crazy!" The blond girl was so happy to have someone share an interest in these kind of movie.

Riku had stayed for another forty-five minutes then finally left. He was sort of shocked that a girl like Namine liked that sort of movie, but it wasn't a bad thing. He liked that.

Namine was looking forward to tomorrow, and who it would bring.

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Who will be next?~ Onyl I shall know!~**

**Please Review!**


	9. The Second Day

**The Second Day**

**The beginning of this chapter was so hard for me to write for some reason. Ugh.**

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**The Next morning, Namine was up pretty early. She had woken up from an odd dream about ice cream, mountains, and Kairi water skiing. Watermelon was also some how related to this too, but Namine didn't remember exactly. From all the food in her dream, the petite blond was starving. She slipped on her fuzzy white robe and slippers then went downstairs to the kitchen.

"Hey there Miss Namine. What'll it be for breakfast today?" Zeke called as she entered.

"I want something fruity... But still sweet..." Namine couldn't decide.

"How 'bout some Strawberry Crepes?" He flashed a bright, toothy smile.

Namine's face lite up. "Please do!" Strawberries were her favorite fruit. As soon as the Crepes were done, they were in her stomach. Namine decided she need to shower so that's what she did.

When Namine went upstairs, she glanced over at her sketchbook on the table in her room. An urge had come over her to draw. She glanced at the bathroom, then to her table. _'It couldn't hurt to draw for a few hours. Whoever comes won't come for another couple hours...' _

She grabbed her iPod from her bed and sat down in one of the white chairs at the table. She set the blue music device to shuffle and began. The rough draft started, then the rough sketch. When it came to drawing, Namine was serious. After almost two hours the basic sketch was completed. Something about the music she was listening to made Namine sleepy. Her hand had began cramping too, so she decided to stop for a minute. The blond looked at the clock on her iPod and realized she should probably take her bath or shower now. A rainbow of colored pencils were spread out across the table, Namine would color when she finished.

Into the bathroom the blond went, still with her iPod on. She unplugged the headphones and took them off. The iPod was placed on her iHome and she proceeded to undress. Majority of the music on her iPod was classical, something that always relaxed her. She turned the hot water faucet then waited for the tub to fill. When the water was good, she set herself in.

"So... warm..." She whispered to herself.

Something about lying in warm water made Namine sleepy because again she fell asleep in the tub.

_**X**_

Today was the day the gang would work on how the other students saw Namine. This would last longer than the other stuff, so they all figured it'd be best to get it done. All the girls started different rumors about more important things-- The male Org. members and the Blitz Ball team. Every single female (even some of the taken ones too) either like or liked someone from either groups. Riku was a fairly hot subject too for the females, because he had apparently refused offers from both the Org. and the Blitz team and joined some fighting team instead. Kairi was lucky she was friends with a lot of popular people.

Another important subject for the student-body was the King & Queen. It was a simple school event that happened every year around this time. One boy and one girl from the school were chosen as King & Queen. For one week, their word was law. Kairi thought that if she could get the Queen position, then she'd be able to stop the teasing for Namine. Kairi was very popular, even rivaling with Ashe for the spot. Ashe was actually a pretty nice person, but she had a 'princess' attitude about her sometimes. Besides Ashe though, the only person she could see winning possibly was Yuna, but she wouldn't enter unless Kairi really forced her to.

Kairi was running for Queen, which she then made Sora, Riku, and Roxas all enter for King. The red head didn't really have a problem with sharing the title with someone she didn't know, but she preferred to share it with a friend. Tidus would only enter if Yuna would, and she wouldn't. Axel refused to enter because of quote "Not liking the crown." Kairi didn't really understand the other red head's logic in this but just went with it.

So for the group the next few days would be about new rumors and campaigning for King & Queen.

_**X**_

It wasn't long Namine was asleep this time, only an hour. The water was still faintly warm by the time she was getting out. _'That was the weirdest dream I think I've ever had... But why was I called Alice by everyone?' _The little blond pondered as she put on a towel and went to her dresser.

Sora wasn't too sure if he was lucky for not being noticed by the blond walking about in a towel or extremely unfortunate for this pretty much happening a second time. Before the blond would notice, Sora dashed out of her room. Namine thought she heard something when he ran and looked back. For a split second she thought she saw brown hair.

"Uh...." She looked around cautiously. "Is... Someone there?"

Sora had two choices, pop his head into the doorway and face whatever the blond had for him or just stay there and silent. He figured the second option would be best. Unluckily for him, a maid was walking by, the one who had let him in and directed him to her room.

"Why, what are you doing out here?" Questioned the maid. Namine was getting dressed by now, but turned her head around to see the maid talking to someone next to the doorway outside. The next thing Sora knew, he was getting dragged into Namine's room. The maid apparently didn't realize Namine had just gotten out of the tub. The half dressed girl's eyes widened and her face went beat red. Unlike last time, Namine shrieked.

The maid did a double take, moving her head from Namine to Sora, then back again. When she realized her Mistress was half dressed, she redragged the boy outside of the door and slammed it. Namine could hear some apologies, then footsteps. It was best to just get dressed and greet Sora, was Namine's best though, so she did so. Her face was still pink, and she noticed his was a little too.

"So... Uhhh...." Sora was trying to think of something to say.

"Let's hope there's no third time with this." The girl didn't really want to have another awkward conversation with Sora. Her picture was still unfinished and it was bugging her but she didn't want to be rude.

Sora noticed her constant staring over at the unfinished picture. "You know, if you want, you can finish it while I'm here. I'm just a visitor." He looked up at the walls of her room-- pictures of things everywhere. "Do you mind if I look?" He asked pointing to the walls as Namine jolted for her seat next to her current piece.

"Sure, go ahead, no one really pays attention to them anyways. They'd like to be looked at." She sounded like she was rambling in a way.

"They like to be looked at? Are they alive?" Sora should've realized his mistake. Namine dropped her colored pencil at the question. She shot him a quick glare, one he didn't see.

"Oh course they are! If they have feeling then they live! In my opinion if a picture doesn't have feeling, then its still blank!" The blond snapped at him.

It was silent for a few minutes. Sora was thinking over what she had just said.

"That's.... A very true statement... To a sense." He was thinking out loud. The painting Namine had just done the other day was hanging on the wall that Sora was currently looking at.

"Wow... What's this called?" The boy felt it to be familiar.

Namine didn't need to lift her head to see which one, She memorized where all her pictures were that she put in her room.

"Kingdom Hearts." She replied.

For an hour, Sora just wondered her room, staring at all the pictures and questioning the ones he really liked. One, he swore looked like a younger him, Kairi, & Riku. Towards the beginning of the pictures were more focused on a Brown Haired Boy, while going farther down, the Brown Haired Boy became a Blond Haired Boy. Sora questioned this quite a few times to which Namine could only answer that they were people that she had dreams about that wouldn't leave until drawn. By the time he had gone through them all Namine was almost done. She just needed to add some more highlights and shading. There was a chair next to Namine so Sora sat himself down to see what she was currently working on.

"That girl looks like this girl from Alice in Wonderland." He scanned the picture. "Oh and there's the White Rabbit... And the Cheshire Cat..." He kept picking out the characters and naming them.

"These are from a book?" Namine had no idea.

Sora looked a little shocked. "You were drawing something that you had no idea about? Woow."

"It was weird... I had a dream that I was this girl." She said pointing to Alice. "Roxas was the cat, Riku was the rabbit. Kairi was that woman in the back... You called her the Queen of Hearts, right? Oh! You were uh..." She searched the busy picture for the man in the funny top hat. "Him." She said pointing.

"The Mad Hatter?!" He groaned. "Do I seem crazy to you?" He laughed and she joined in.

For the rest of the time Sora was there, he explained Alice in Wonderland, although not in great detail. Namine sort of got the gist of it, because of her dream, but otherwise had become fairly interested in the story. Sora told her that he'd ask Kairi to bring her copy of the book when she'd visit.

Before Sora left, the two had a small conversation about the fight. Namine honestly didn't know most of what he was talking about though. When Sora was at the door he spoke kindly, "Namine, I don't think that what you did was completely wrong. Maybe you shouldn't have beaten her, but still... Don't you feel better now? Anyways.... I'll see ya later!" He gave one of his goofy smiles then left.

_'Do I feel better...?' _ She questioned herself silently, still standing next to the door in the wide, empty area. Namine still didn't know exactly what she did but... When she thought of her mind going blank before attacking the girl who was talking bad about her... She felt like her anger at everything was ejected from her body. She turned around to head to the stairs, giving herself a little smile.

"You know... I think I do." The blond chuckled a bit and continued to her room.

**

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Namine isn't really 'psychic' in this, she just has some dreams every now and then that if she doesn't draw, they repeat for months. And besides that, I wanted to keep in some random little details from the actual game because its always fun to do that. ****Anyways, I'm still working to improve, and I hope you enjoy this story so far.**

**Remember to please Review!**


	10. The Third Day

**The Third Day**

**I've read too much Shoujo manga today, I almost wanted to bring more Roxas into this chapter. **

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The blond had another dream as Alice again, although this time it was more detailed. When she had woken from the dream, she was in the middle of playing croquet with Kairi (The Queen of Hearts) using a flamingo. She remembered Roxas (as the Cheshire Cat) constantly appearing and disappearing and only telling her confusing things. Namine never got a straight answer out of him.

_'I hope that it isn't like those one dreams...'_ The girl sighed when she got out of bed. She glanced at her iPod for the time, it was almost 10:00 am. Namine had nothing to do for the day, at least nothing important, so she didn't know what to do while waiting for her visitor. After thinking for a while the blond had an idea-- help out the house staff. For the until her visitor arrived, Namine mainly helped dust and do laundry.

_**X**_

Today, everyone was still mainly doing what they were yesterday, starting rumors and campaigning for the spots of King & Queen. During lunch the group was discussing the Welcoming Party for Namine.

"Okay, so Kairi, remember to ask her." The blond in the black coat reminded.

"I will!" She said with a determined smile and a sailor salute.

"Sora, anything happen yesterday?" Roxas was making sure Sora didn't go overboard with anything. Unfortunately, Sora's face went beat red and Roxas caught it.

"What happened?" Questioned the blond again, looking a bit more serious.

"Uhh..." Sora wouldn't stop shifting his gaze.

"Sora! Tell me what happened or I'll kick your--!" The red head girl shouted.

"He probably saw her naked or something." Riku laughed when he saw how angry Kairi's face looked after he had said it so calmly. Kairi gave Sora a death glare. Roxas was glaring too, but the blond's glares didn't make Sora shiver like Kairi's.

"Sora..." Kairi got up from one of the bench seats, keeping her eyes hidden with her hair. Slowly she walked to the brown haired boy, who had fled behind Riku, with her fists clenched. "Sora... GET YOU ASS OVER HERE SO I CAN BEAT IT!" She lifted her head in a flash, with death in her eyes. The red head ran at Sora, still hiding behind Riku.

"Kairi...! Please, let me explain!!" Begged the boy on his knees. Kairi grabbed him by the collar.

"No mercy for people like you!" She was about to hit him in the face but stopped. "Did you see her naked, Sora?" She asked calmly.

"No... Yes!... I mean no! Ack I mean yes! It was her maid's fault! She led me into her room and told me to wait for Namine! I didn't know she was in the shower! Besides that, I got out as soon as I could! I swear I didn't mean to!" He cried.

"Are you lying to me, huh, Sora?" Said Kairi in a annoyed but calm manner.

"No! I swear I would never lie to you Kairi!!" Begged Sora. The red head dropped his collar. Sora sighed and was about to stand when Kairi kicked him in the stomach. He bawled up on the pavement. Kairi had turned around to walk back to where she had been sitting. By this time everyone was laughing at the events.

"Thank you for your kindness." Was the only thing he said while still lying on the pavement.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood." She replied, now sitting down, still with a glare at Sora.

"Well.... Anyways... Sora, besides THAT, anything else happen?" Roxas asked. It took a few minutes for Sora to recover from the kick.

"I got to see her pictures. It was weird... There were some pictures that I swear looked like us when we were younger. And she told me a bit about her philosophy."

"Really?" Asked Roxas, to both statements.

"Yeah. One looked like Riku, Kairi, and me. A couple looked like me somewhere all white. After a while, brown hair became blond hair, a lot like yours Roxi." He pointed at his friend's choppy hair. He got a glare from Roxas for that nickname. "Anyways, she was telling me about how she thinks all pictures are alive. They live because emotion was used to create them. In a way, she sort of reminded me of her statement..." He paused. "But she said that if there was no emotion, then the picture was still a blank canvas. It was sort of funny to me, she was wearing a pure white dress." He continued.

"She really likes white. I wonder if she feels like she's emotionless, unintentionally I mean." Roxas interrupted. He was listening intently to what Sora was saying.

"Yeah well... Besides that... She was telling me about a dream she had while she was drawing. It was..."

"Alice in Wonderland." Kairi stated.

"Yeah."

"In her dream, Namine was Alice. I was the Queen of Hearts. Roxas, you were the Cheshire Cat. Riku was the White Rabbit. Sora was..." She laughed a little, the red head calmed down from the little fight just minutes ago.

"The Mad Hatter." He grumbled.

Riku, who had been listening just as well as Roxas had laughed.

"I can see that." Riku said with a smirk. He had been fairly quiet again. He felt that he didn't need to talk, so he didn't. The silver haired boy would listen then put in his input, he was wise that way.

_DING DING DING DING DING_

Kairi grabbed her stuff. "Later guys, see you tomorrow!" She waved and they waved. The red head didn't have any classes with the others so she said her goodbyes now. _'We didn't get anywhere during lunch.. Ugh that stupid Sora!' _Kairi sighed and continued to class.

_**X**_

Namine opened her closet, grabbed a white t-shirt and a denim jean skirt and changed. She was going to go on a walk, for the fresh air. Sandals were placed on her feet and out she went. The blond didn't even notice the red head walking to her door.

"Naaaaami!" She heard shouted. Namine looked up to see Kairi running at her. She was happy to see her friend, but also a little disappointed, she didn't really know why though. Kairi ran to Namine and gave her a big bear hug.

"Ah! Kairi!" She was gasping for air. Kairi realize she was hugging a bit too hard so she let go.

"Sorry Nami! I don't know my own strength." She lifted her arm, flexed it jokingly then laughed.

"So where you going, Nami?"

"I was going to go on a walk."

"Oh..." The red head was a little dishearted.

"You can come" Namine said with a giggle.

"Yay! Thanks Nami!" Kairi gave her another hug.

_Oo_

The two girls walked on the sidewalk with no real direction they were heading. They just kept chatting away. Soon enough, the two found themselves at the train station.

"Hey Nami, wanna go somewhere?" Kairi pulled out her wallet and waved it in the air.

"Well... Its too late for the beach... Why don't we just head to the Struggle Arena and watch some fights?" Namine really didn't want Kairi to spend her money.

"Let's go to the beach tomorrow! Since it'll be the weekend anyways, so it'll work!" Exclaimed the red head. Namine grew a smile at the thought, but then frowned.

"I don't have a swimsuit..." Namine mumbled.

"You don't?!" Kairi sounded like it was the end of the world.

"Nope." Namine was surprised with the other girl's surprise.

"Instead of the Struggle thing then, let's get you a swimsuit!" Kairi grabbed Namine's arm and headed for the closest swimsuit store.

In the store, Kairi grabbed at least ten different swimsuits then threw Namine into a dressing room with them. The blond looked through some and was surprised at how... Revealing they were.

"Uh...."

"Namine, need help? Speak louder, I can barely hear you!" She shouted over the door. Namine felt embarrassed for even thinking about putting some of these on.

"Kairi... these don't really... suit me." Namine said quietly.

"Why not?"

"They are just... Too revealing?" Namine was uncomfortable in this little room with these revealing clothes that her friend was trying to get her to wear.

"Hmm... Fine, Nami. What's you favorite color?"

"Huh? Uh... Blue."

"Any blue?"

"Yeah... Why?" Namine was worried.

"I'll be right back." Kairi was gone and back in an instant.

"Here." She slid a bathing suit under the door. "Just try that one."

Namine examined it, it didn't seem too revealing, but still very cute. She began to change.

The door opened and Namine walked out. She looked cute in the Blue bikini. The bottom part looked sort of like shorts with a white belt going around the top. The top part was a halter that wasn't that revealing at all. Namine liked that. Kairi cheered when she saw how cute her friend was in the swimsuit.

"We'll take it!" Again Kairi pulled out her wallet, she really wanted to buy something today.

"Kairi, I'll buy it, not you." Namine tried to say it the nicest way possible. The blond headed back into the changing room to return to her clothes.

"But!" Namine could tell Kairi was angry but tried to calm her down.

"Why don't you buy us ice cream? Its kinda hot today..." Namine peeked her head over the door when she said this. It wasn't just an excuse, it was actually hot. Namine bought the swimsuit. (She had her wallet with her all along.) The two wondered about trying to find the Ice Cream Shoppe. They got hit on a few times while they were looking but Kairi fought 'em off.

"There it is!" Shouted Kairi when she saw the sign. "Let's go." Again she grabbed Namine's arm and dragged her in.

Then they were at the counter they saw something they never thought they would-- Riku in a Ice Cream costume. Kairi couldn't stop laughing. She even took out her cell phone and told Namine to take a picture of Riku and her.

"Kairi! I'm not doing this on purpose! I was forced!" Riku was obviously very uncomfortable wearing that suit. Namine would giggle when he moved because it looked so awkward. Kairi wouldn't stop asking him questions so, annoyed, Riku just went to his other costumers.

"Psh... Rude!" Kairi giggled. "So, Nami, Whadda want?"

"How 'bout some Sea Salt Ice Cream?" That was sounding really good to Namine.

"Alright," She turned her head back to Riku. "Hey! Riku! We want to order!" She shouted while waving. Namine thought she heard Riku curse something but she didn't know.

"So what do you want?" He sighed.

"Two orders of Sea Salt Ice Cream please." She was still giggling.

"Ugh... Fine." He stomped off, which made Kairi and Namine laugh even more because of how funny he looked doing it. After about 5 minutes Riku came back with two ice creams in his hands.

"Here." He glared at Kairi, who just gave him an innocent look.

"Please don't be like her." He said to Namine as he walked away but quickly came back. "DON'T TELL ANYONE I'M DOING THIS." He shout-whispered then finally left.

"Geeze... What a weirdo~" Kairi said while licking her ice cream. "So good!~" She exclaimed.

The two girls chatted for about twenty minutes more before finally leaving the Shoppe. Kairi was so happy to whip out her wallet and pay for the ice cream which made Namine laugh. When they were getting back to Namine's house, they decided to split up because Namine's house wasn't that far and Kairi still needed to stop somewhere for her mom.

"Remember! Tomorrow!" Kairi started to head in the opposite direction of Namine but stopped and ran back. "Oh I forgot! Two things! One; Here." She pulled a book out of her bag she'd been carrying. The golden letters read _Alice in Wonderland_. "And two; What's your favorite food?"

Namine's face lit up when she saw the book but when she was asked about food, her mind went blank. "Uhhh... I really like anything with Strawberries. Although, I like sugar cookies a lot too... That's not really a meal is it?" She laughed a little. Kairi gave her the book and thanked her.

Namine waved as the red head ran off in the distance. She was excited to get home and read the book, which is what she did.

**

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Kairi is so odd sometimes. Hahahah.**

**Please Review!**


	11. A Day at the Beach

**A Day At The Beach**

**I miss going to the beach.**

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By the time Namine got up that morning, it was only 10. She checked her cell phone (which she had been ignoring for the last few days) to see that Kairi had called. Namine gave Kairi her number yesterday when the two were at the ice cream shoppe. The girl also had a couple calls from numbers she didn't know. She wasn't very good at texting but sent Kairi a text anyways asking why she called. Kairi sent back a text rather quick just saying where they were meeting and when. They were going to meet at the train station at noon and that the train ride would take an hour.

Namine got up and grabbed her new swimsuit from the bag that was sitting on the floor next to her dresser. She walked into her bathroom and quickly changed. The girl was actually a bit surprised, the blue bikini didn't make her look that bad-- usually when she wore any kind of swimsuit she would look weird because she was so pale. Back into her room she went, to sift through her dresser for something to wear over it. After looking for a short time, she decided to just wear her favorite white dress, it was simple but still really cute. Namine grabbed a medium sized bag and stuffed a brush, a towel, some extra clothes, sun screen, a sunhat, a small blanket, sun glasses, her wallet, and a water into it. Down the stairs she went with her bag, to get a snack before she left. Zeke had already prepared some cookies so Namine got a plastic bag and put some in. Namine stopped at the door, that's where she left her sandals when she got back yesterday. She slipped them on and headed to the train station as fast as she could because it was almost 11:30 and it would take a while to walk there.

When she got there, she was looking for her friend. She continued to look around until she finally spotted the red head. Namine didn't know that it was going to be pretty much everyone going until she saw another red head, a blond, a silver haired dude, and a brown haired kid. Kairi looked like she was looking around for Namine when Sora poked her and pointed in her direction. The blond girl thought she heard Kairi yell but she really only saw her waving and smiling. Namine rushed over to her friends.

"Sorry I'm late..." Namine was a little out of breath, she doesn't run much.

"Not a problem, not a problem!" Kairi cheered.

"So, everyone is coming?" She looked over at all the others.

"Yup, I was talking to Sora over the phone last night and mentioned it, which made him really want to go. Sora texted Roxas, who was hanging out with Axel and asked if he wanted to go. Axel was being nosy and butted in begging to come too. And that sulky one over there, I black mailed him into coming." Kairi answered, pointing to each person when talking to them. Riku scowled when she got to him. He was still pretty angry that the little red head was black mailing him because of his stupid job.

"Oh... Sorry?" She said, towards Riku.

"Its not your fault, its this one's." Pointing to Kairi as he spoke.

"Whatever Riku! Anyways, Nami, you should get your ticket, we already got ours." She pointed to the ticket stand. "Roxas! You should be nice and carry Nami's things! That bag looks kinda heavy." The red head suggested. She really wanted to see these two together.

"Huh..? Oh yeah. Want me to carry that for you?" Roxas was being a little more quiet today then usual, which Namine thought was a bit strange.

"You don't have to.." Namine opened the bag to fish around for her wallet. She then set the bag down because her shoulder had started to hurt a bit. Namine walked over to the stand and got her ticket and walked back fast. When she got back, Roxas had her things.

"Your shoulder... Anyways, its no trouble for me to carry it. Let's get on the train." Namine blushed a little. She walked with her friends to the train and got on.

On the train, Roxas sat next to Namine and Axel. Kairi demanded that Sora sit next to her because he was carrying her stuff. Riku sat sulking on the same bench as Kairi and Sora but at the opposite end. Axel kept staring out the window with an excited look across his face. There was a bit of an awkward silence on the train for some reason. Kairi tried to strike up a conversation, but failed miserably. Sora was up next to bat at the conversation starting game and he actually had a funny story to tell.

"So Namine, I bet you didn't know, Roxas use to work on trains." He said with a playful grin. Kairi's face lit up and Namine perked up a little, as if very interested.

"I remember this!!" Kairi couldn't help but blurt out laughing.

"Oh god...." Roxas stuffed his head in his hands, Namine noticed his cheeks were a little red from the side.

"What's the story?" Namine couldn't contain her curiosity.

"Well, Roxas use to be a uh..... person who lets people on trains. Anyways, he use to sneak some of his friends from Org XIII on the trains, a lot. He got caught one time and got fired." Sora was laughing. Even Riku, who was still sulking was chuckling a little.

"I remember those days!" Exclaimed Axel, facing the others now and not the window. "Roxas you should really get back into that business, I miss the free rides."

Roxas lifted his head to Sora and mouthed "I Hate You." then looked at Axel and barked "Shut up Axel! It was your fault anyways. Stupid pretzels..." His face was still a little red, Namine couldn't believe Roxas had done something like that, but she also could help giggling at her friend's story.

"Surprising right? I mean who wouldda though Roxas would break the law?" Kairi was still laughing but quickly went serious. "Although... Some of the Organization's activities can't be called legal."

The train car went silent. Obviously the group had a problem with mentioning the Org. Axel glared at Kairi while Roxas just looked down. This was a touchy subject.

"So... Guys, do you go to the beach much?" Namine asked, changing the subject. Kairi became excited, telling Namine how she use to live near the beach. Sora had too apparently. So did Riku. They actually stayed on the subject of the beach for the rest of the ride, which really wasn't that long.

When they exited the station, Namine couldn't help but stare in wonder. It was her first time going to the beach in at least 6 years. Namine actually ran to the water, with a sparkle in her eyes. Kairi also ran but didn't look even half as excited as Namine did. The blond would run to the waves as they pulled away then run back as they grew on the shore. Roxas couldn't help but laugh when the waves caught her and made her fall in. In fact, everyone laughed. The blond boy walked over to Namine who seemed like a little girl visiting a new place and helped her up. Her white dress was pretty much see through now and all the boys got to see her new swimsuit. Sora and Axel cheered and peeled off their shirts. Axel grabbed a beach ball and threw it at Sora who was already in the water. Riku went and sat in the shade and Roxas blushed, a lot. Namine, realizing that her dress was soaking and pretty much see through, took it off. Kairi, not wanting to be out done by Namine, yanked off her shorts and tank top to reveal a simple purple bikini. Like Namine's it wasn't super revealing or anything but was still really cute. Namine walked out of the water to get her stuff and set it down.

"Thanks for carrying it for me, Roxas." She gave him a little smile and continued to an empty spot. Apparently Namine's short little scene caused a lot of random guys to stare. When she was setting her stuff down, a few of the guys whistled and came over to her. The blond was really starting to hate these random guys that would appear out of no where and hit on her.

"So cutie, wanna ditch your friends and play with us?" Asked the tallest of the three.

"Uh..." She glanced over at Kairi who was watching. "I'm busy, would you leave me alone?"

"That's not something you should say to someone wanting to be your friend." Said another one, with a grin that sort of scared the blond girl.

"You just want to get into her pants." Said an annoyed familiar voice.

"That's not true! We were just going to go out for pizza or something, and besides that who are you?" Said the taller one again.

"Namine, I'm guessing they're lying?" Said Roxas, still very annoyed at the three.

"Yup Roxas." Namine was very relieved to have Roxas there.

"So can I kick their asses?" Said the boy with a devilish grin.

"Just don't hurt them too badly..." But Namine didn't care if they were or not.

"H-hey! Why you gotta be like that babe? And whose this?" Asked the orange haired one.

"What are you talking about? I'm her boyfriend! Get the hell outta here before I kick your asses!" Yelled Roxas.

The three looked over at Namine who was just grinning and agreeing with what Roxas had just said. Then their faces went pale as if to say _"Aw, shit, this dude's serious!". _They almost trampled over each other leaving. Namine laughed as they left and lifted up a hand, to give Roxas a high five. Their friends saw what happened and rushed over.

"Did you see the look on that guys face? Priceless!" Roxas was laughing really hard so he sat down in the sand.

"What did you say to them to get them to leave Nami?" Kairi questioned, she looked interested.

"Uh I said... _'What are you talking about? I'm her boyfriend! Get the hell outta here before I kick your asses!'_" Roxas was still laughing. Namine had stopped though, relaying what Roxas had repeated in her head made her blush.

"Oh~" Sora started to laugh at Namine's expression.

"Sora, shut up!" Kairi broke in, not wanting to ruin this funny but slightly romantic moment. Namine calmed herself down and took out her blanket to set her stuff on. Then the girl took out her sun screen and began applying it. Sora and Kairi knew this little moment was over so they decided to get back to playing. Axel was in the water with the beach ball waiting, while Riku was still sitting in the shade, almost being like a silent protector. Sora grabbed his silver haired friend and dragged him into the water, as instructed by Kairi. Now it was only Roxas and Namine on the shore.

"Hey... Roxas will you get my back for me please?" Namine asked, staring off into the deep blue ocean. She was trying to not make eye contact, again.

"Uh sure." The boy was feeling really weird doing this, but he just shrugged it off. When Roxas had finished Namine stood up then turned around to face him.

"I'm going to play, want to come?" She reached out a had and gave a smile, although in a way, it was an uncomfortable smile. From the way the light was hitting her, Namine looked so beautiful to Roxas. He didn't even pay attention when she asked him so she repeated herself. Roxas snapped back to reality.

"Sure." He took her hand as she helped him stand. "I hope no one messes with your stuff." He glanced over at some of the belongings in the bag.

"I'm sure no one will, let's go anyways." She was still holding his hand, pulling him towards the waves. Namine was still purposely not making eye contact.

For at least four hours the six teens played in the water. They were having so much fun swimming, splashing, playing with beach balls. Namine was getting a bit tired and Kairi noticed this.

"Hey Nami! Wanna take a little break?"

"Yeah, I'm a little thirsty..." Namine answered. Kairi linked arms with Namine and walked towards the blond's stuff. The boys started to follow but Kairi turned her head and shouted "Girl time! No boys!" with a wink.

When they sat down Namine took out her water and drank almost half of it. Then she sighed.

"Nami... How come you are kind of ignoring Roxas?" Kairi asked, out of the blue.

Namine was mid-drink and almost choked on her water.

"W-where'd that come from?" Questioned the blond.

"You've been avoiding eye contact with him all day." Replied Kairi, now leaning back relaxing more.

"O-oh.... I... I didn't realize I was..." Namine felt worried, like her thoughts were being exposed.

"I think its making him a bit sad..." Kairi continued.

"I.. I hadn't noticed." Namine's escape route right now was to deny everything.

"Sure, sure." The red head slowly moved her gaze to the girl sitting next to her. "So... How do you feel about him...?" She was watching Namine carefully, waiting for a reaction. Namine jumped a little and her face went pinker than it already was from the sun.

"What do... you mean Kairi?" Namine was getting nervous so she turned her gaze to the four boys still playing in the water. Sora and Roxas had ganged up on Riku and tackled the taller teen into the water. Axel was just pointing and laughing. When Riku's head came out of the water, he tackled Axel for laughing. Watching this made Namine chuckle.

"Well... Do you like him, hate him, think of him as a great person... Love..?" Kairi took her gaze off the petite blond and moved it to the boys too.

"....L-love?! I don't... I like him as a friend. He's sweet... Kind..." Namine's eyes looked like they were smiling when she was talk about his good features. "He's also... a good protector. He is a great person. I really like him..." Namine put her arms around her knees and pulled them closer, lowering her head to rest on them. She was watching the blond in the water, playing with his friends. A smile was forming on her pink face.

"So... you think he is a great person...? What kind of feelings do you get when you're with him?" Kairi could see Namine's actions in the corner of her eye.

Namine still was in a daze about the blond boy. "They are... Very warm. Very comforting. Fuzzy almost. But also very strong and trusting." She answered without thinking.

Kairi was silent for a few moments, watching the boys too.

"So... Wouldn't that be love?" She questioned.

Namine jolted her head up at the thought.

"...O-of c-c-course n-not!! I mean... I met him not long ago, he may have helped me before... but it can't already be love. That's impossible." She sunk back into her arms and knees and repeated "Impossible..."

"You don't believe in love at first sight?" Kairi was actually surprised at this.

"It can't be real."

"You know... That's not true. I mean... When I first met Sora..." She laughed a little. "He confessed to me right on the spot. He's done it on my birthday since I've known him. Whenever I ask him why... He says it was love at first sight." A smile formed on Kairi's face now. Namine was a bit shocked to learn this.

"But..."

"And you know what...?"

"What?"

"I love him too."

"Why aren't you together then?"

"Because... Well there are lots of reasons. Technically he doesn't know that his feelings are returned. But I feel like he does. Our hearts are connected like that. Like our feelings don't need to be spoken or declared to the world. We talk to each other over the phone every night for at least an hour. My.... Abuse?" She laughed again. "Is like a way I show my affection. As weird as that sounds..."

Namine understood Kairi's logic. It was like 'These are our matters and we don't really care if we are known or not, but we aren't going to scream it to the world for attention.'

"That's how love should be..." Namine started to think of her parents.

Again, silence between the two.

"Hey Nami... Is your family french?" Asked the red head, now switching the subject.

"Only on my mother's side. How could you tell, my last name?"

"Haha, yup!" Kairi stood up. She called out to the boys and waved. "I'm gonna go back to playing, are you gonna come Nami?"

"Nah.. I want to take a little break." She sighed and relaxed a little more. The sun was starting to sink lower and lower. Namine could feel someone standing over her so she looked up to see the other blond.

"Hey Nami. Mind if I sit down?"

"Hi Roxas. Go a head." He gestured for him to sit so he did. It was silent for a while. Namine was staring off at the sea gulls fighting for something. Roxas was watching her.

"Are you having fun?"

"Yup. Sorry I'm not more... Out there."

"Its not like you're Kairi, we know you are more quiet and like to take things slowly."

"But sometimes... Its lonely being the quiet one. Not very many people stay with them..." Namine turned her face to the sand and started to doodle in it with her finger.

"I like to be with quiet people." He said trying to cheer her up, not realizing that he had just made her blush.

"I think..." Namine decided not to finish her sentence, she wasn't really sure what she was going to say anyways. The girl reached for her bag and grabbed out her extra clothes. It was still a dress, but a blue one with white music notes all over the skirt part. She slipped it over her bikini.

"You're not going to swim or anything?" Roxas questioned.

"I'm getting a little tired..." Namine was swaying a little in her seated spot.

"You can... lean on me I guess if you're really tired?" He suggested, although didn't realize what he actually suggested.

"...Thanks." Namine's eyes were getting heavy. "Hey Rox...as.... There are... some... cookies.. in my ba...g.... Want some?" She was slowly drifting in and out of sleep on the boys comfortable shoulder.

Quietly Roxas reached over to her bag and grabbed the littler bag with cookies in it and took two.

"'Night Nami..." was the last thing Namine fully heard, and the sound of cookies getting eaten.

The two probably were like that for another hour, until Kairi, Riku, Sora, and Axel came up. Axel, Sora and Kairi all giggled. Kairi took out her cell phone and took a few pictures. Roxas kept protesting but didn't want to wake up Namine so he refused to move. He just shot daggers at them with his eyes.

Everyone gathered their stuff together, Kairi took Namine's stuff while Roxas carried Namine. On the train, Kairi and Sora fell asleep sitting next to each other. Riku wanted to sit further away for some reason so he sat in a different car. Axel was out too, on a different bench but same car. Roxas was pretty much by himself with a little blond sleeping on half of his lap. It was only an hour, but Roxas felt like it was forever. When they arrived, Roxas had to wake everyone up. He volunteered to walk Namine home since it was getting dark and it wouldn't be safe with her by herself.

When they got to the door, he gave Namine her stuff and left. "I'm happy she had fun..." He said to himself while walking home.

Namine was out like a light as soon as she was in her room. Tonight's dream was about... Surprising, Roxas.

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**Kairi loves Sora?! Sora loves Kairi too?! *Le gasp* /sarcasm  
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** Anyways, next chapter will be with Sora and Kairi, just as a heads up. Unless I get another idea. Please Review!**


	12. Conversations

**Conversations  
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**Quick chapter over the phone.**

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Sora took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Kairi's number. After a few rings, she finally picked up.

"Hey Sora. What's up?"

"I wanna do something." He said in a whiny voice.

"Well I have to do homework today, so we can't hang out."

"That's laaaame."

"Shouldn't you be at Blitz practice anyways?"

"Blitz is boring, besides Tidus gets all the shots anyways." Sora heard a laugh at the other end.

"Yeah that true. But he is really good at it."

"Because of his dad."

"That's not true, and you know it." It was silent after that.

"Hey... Sora do you think Roxas likes Namine?" It was silent so Kairi thought maybe to change the subject.

"I dunno. I mean.. He acts a little different to her, but..."

"You think it just might be his regular kindness?"

"Yeah. Although.. He is usually more... forceful? When it comes to her, like he'll want to do anything to get it done."

"Like... He wants to protect her from harm."

"Exactly!"

"But... That could just be sympathy for her, he knows her past so..."

"He feels inclined to help her?" Sora finished her sentence.

"Yeah, but the feeling of wanting to protect..." Kairi paused. In a way, she was reflecting her own relationship with Sora. "It can also be love.." She said slowly.

Again it was silent. Sora probably didn't have anything to say to what the red head just stated.

"I remember..." The girl changed the subject to the past. "When Roxas kept bringing us to the park to meet a girl he met one day. He was so desperate to get us to meet her..."

"My mom started to get mad that I was going to the park and doing nothing so she made me stop." Sora laughed a little.

"So did Riku's and mine! ...But he still kept waiting for her... Didn't he go to the park everyday for at least an hour?"

"I can't believe that he still did it until he met her again. Hey Kairi, do you think it was love at first sight for him or something?" Kairi was silent, remembering what her and the blond had talked about just yesterday.

"Namine doesn't believe in love at first sight.." She said quietly into the phone.

"Wow, really?! Then she doesn't believe me?!" Kairi could tell that the boy was smiling when he said this.

"She was surprised when I told her yesterday. Along with some other things." Kairi was happy she wasn't talking to Sora directly or he would've seen the blush.

"Do you know what Org XIII has been up to lately?" Sora brought up randomly.

"I haven't heard anything beside protecting Nami."

"I'm worried about Roxas."

"I'm sure he'll be fine.." Kairi didn't exactly sound so sure in her voice.

"Do you know the other 6? 'Cause I've only met the student members."

"All I know is two of them are cool... Uh the ones with the nicknames The Freeshooter, and The Gambler of Fate. One is really weird, I think he's some sort of Science teacher. The Whirlwind Lancer and The Luna Diviner are apparently fairly scary. The one they call Superior hasn't been spotted anywhere, I heard he's a little crazy, but I doubt that. I think the only friends Roxas has in the Org that I could approve of are Demyx and Axel."

Kairi heard Sora burst out laughing. "What are you, his mom?!"

"Shut up, Sora!" She was getting a little irritated.

"Sowwy!" Sora said, trying to be cute.

"Whatever." Kairi giggled.

The two continued to chat over the phone for another hour until Kairi's mom threatening to take her phone.

"Hey Sora..." The red head was having a hard time saying something.

"Yeah Kairi?"

"Uhm... Never mind. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow, and get to practice!" She missed another chance. But to her, it wouldn't feel right over the phone. Sora didn't want to get on Kairi's bad side, so he got his gear and drove to Blitz practice. He was really late so his Coach made his run a bunch of laps, do 150 push ups, and swim 8 laps. It wasn't too hard for the brown haired boy to accomplish.

_**X**_

That day, Namine didn't do anything except reading. She took her iPod, grabbed Alice in Wonderland and laid on her bed. The blond didn't get up except for the occasional bathroom break or snack.

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Sorry for the shortness, I just wanted a chapter between Sora & Kairi discussing Roxas & Namine. Besides that too, I wanted to add in some stuff about the staff part of Org XIII.**

**Please Review!**


	13. Welcome Back

**Welcome Back**

**It took me a while to get this out, I kept getting little blocks throughout the chapter. I felt like I wanted to make it longer than usual, so yeah, it is. **

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When the week started, Namine had 3 days left. She got a text from Kairi saying something about there being a lot of tests, exams, etc. the next few days so no one would visit. This made Namine a little sad, because even though she had only been apart from her friends for four days, but she missed them. The first of the three passed fairly quick but on the second day, her father came home. All she heard out of his mouth was how much of a disgrace she was and where the hell had she been. (He noticed her skin was slightly dark than before.) Unfortunately, they had a security system around their house and her dad easily found out that she had gone out and had people who he didn't know over. He was pissed, especially when he saw Roxas walk his daughter home two nights ago. Namine didn't know why, and tried to stick up for her friends. Mr. Minne (Blanc was her mother's last name, and Namine preferred it over her father's.) was a bit surprised by that, but it only made him angrier.

Instead of continuing to fight with her father, Namine just went upstairs hearing "If I ever see those four again, I swear to god that you will NEVER leave this house, even for school! Do you hear me?!"

The blond couldn't believe her father. _'Why is he like this? Does he think he's protecting me? Does he think I'll accept him as a dad if he does this?'_ Namine felt the sting of tears as she was thinking of what her father had just said. _'I wish... I could just escape from him... from this...' _It was only 5 PM but Namine had cried herself to sleep. While asleep, she had dreams of the beach, of her friends.

The next morning the girl had woken up pretty early. Her face felt weird from all the dried tears so she went to the bathroom to wash it. She left the bathroom and proceeded to walk to her dresser. Namine felt like wearing something dark today but she really didn't have many dark colored clothes, most of it was white, blue, or yellow. After searching all three drawers she went over to her wardrobe, hoping to find something in it, knowing that it was most likely empty. As soon as she opened it, she spotted a short black dress. Immediately she took it out to inspect it. _'There's nothing wrong with it..' _The blond thought to herself while still looking. She undressed the top of herself and slid it on. It was fairly short on her so Namine decided to grab some pants and wear those underneath. It felt... uncomfortable in her room, so Namine went to her balcony and opened the doors. She walked out to the railing and looked down.

"It's not too far..." The girl said to absolutely no one. "Wait... What am I saying?" She continued.

Then she looked back into her room, specifically, her bed. A thought had arrived in her head and Namine liked it. Quickly, she went to her bed and began pulling off all the sheets. Slowly, she tied them, making sure that every knot was tight and stable. She grabbed her rope of sheets and threw one end to the ground, to see how far it landed. It was just short of the ground, Namine figured she'd be able to jump. The blond tied the end she was still holding to the railing and ran back to her room. She grabbed a tote bag and stuffed her iPod, cellphone, wallet, sketchbook and art supplies inside. Namine grabbed one of her berets, black, and headed out to her balcony again. She swung the tote bag over her shoulder and began sliding down the makeshift rope. Namine knew that she'd get caught if she went out the driveway entrance so she headed in a different direction. When she was little, Namine found a hole in the wall, which was weird because her house was still pretty new at the time. Every now and then, Namine would check to see if it was still there.

Surprisingly it still was, considering the last time she checked was almost a year ago. Namine got through the hole with ease, as it was pretty large. The blond set off for a place that has almost always made her happy, Destiny Gardens. By the time she got there, it was almost eight o' clock. (She woke up at around 5-6 am) She went to the same bench as last time, the one right next to the playground. Namine just sat at that bench with her iPod in her ears, watching the people pass her by for at least two hours. She could've sworn some of them went to her school, which was understandable, it was roughly a five minute drive from here. It was the perfect place to ditch. Namine began to zone out to everything until a familiar red head in a black coat came out of no where.

"Hey!" He said, no reply. He took a good look at her before officially saying anything else, she seemed different, but he was positive it was her.

"Heeeeeey!" He shouted this time, again no reply so he took out of her headphones and repeated "Heeeeey Namine!" which made her jump and shove him away.

"Finally, so whacha doing here blondie?" He questioned.

"Huh?" Namine looked up to see Axel. "I could say the same to you..." Was her only reply.

"Ouch, cold. I'm here to look for ditchers. You aren't one yet till tomorrow, so whacha doing here?" Again he questioned.

"I don't feel like being at home is all." Namine didn't feel the need to go into a deep explanation for the red head.

"You know, You dad called the school... Says your missing." His emerald eyes examining her carefully to see her reaction.

"Really..." Namine actually believed this because her father had done it before. She was getting annoyed with it.

"Yup, says to take you in if spotted." Namine was staring out at the children on the swings, trying to not care.

"So are you?" She questioned, breaking the moment of silence.

"Nah, I don't really feel like it. I figure, you could use a day off from your dad after yesterday." He glanced over at the girl's bag.

Namine's defenses rose. "How do you know about yesterday, Axel?" Namine then looked at him, with hints of anger.

"I got my sources." He shifted his gaze over to the blond again, finally pin pointing what was different. "You're wearing black."

"Hmph..." It took Namine a minute to realize he was talking about her appearance. "Yeah, so?"

"Definitely not your color. You look even whiter." He smirked a little.

Namine couldn't bring herself to say anything else, she just sort of stuttered until she finally got out "S-shut up! You're on the job, go catch those ditchers!" Namine pointed in the direction of some students from their school skating.

"Fine, fine! Ah, Roxas told me to tell you if you're here to wait till after school and he'll walk you home, unfortunately, I can't let him go to your house, from your dad, yeah. You two can hang here as long as you want, Blance-Minne, but he can't go to your house. Got it memorized?" Axel smirked as he ran towards the skaters who were now scrambling every which way. Namine laughed at them but was still reflecting on what the red head just said.

"Ugh... That nickname better not stick..." Namine sighed and put her headphones back in. Something was bugging her but she didn't know what, so she grabbed her tote and moved the the nearest tree. As soon as she sat down, Namine pulled out her sketchbook and pastels and began a new picture, one with three children trying to climb one of the larger trees in the park. It was rather funny to watch.

Less than thirty minutes later, the kids left so Namine had to continue by memory. It wasn't too hard, but it wasn't amazingly easy either. By the time she finished, it was almost noon so Namine stuffed her pastels and sketchbook into her bag and took out her wallet. For some strange reason her father gave her anywhere from twenties to fifties every day, so her regular sized wallet was stuffed with them. If someone were to steal it, they would go home a _very_ wealthy person. Anyways, she could hear her stomach growl for food so she grabbed her stuff and walked to the closest place.

She walked into a Subway and looked around, not totally sure of what kind of place it was. After a few glances every where, she assumed it was a sandwich place.

"What would you like, miss?" Asked the man behind the counter.

"Uh... I'll have a turkey sandwich with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and... uh... that's it. Oh, and a cookie and a drink." Namine wasn't completely sure about her order.

"Would you like a foot long? And what drink?"

"Foot long...? Sure I guess... For a drink... I guess uh... a water."

"Alright ma'am. Total comes to $6.98." Namine pulled out a twenty and gave it to the man who gave her a look like 'You don't have anything lower than this?'

After her order, Namine sat down to wait for her food. It didn't take too long so she took it and went back to the park, she didn't want to miss Roxas. When she got back, nothing in the park really changed. Although, the blond wasn't gone for that long anyways. She spotted her tree and immediately went to it to eat. It didn't take the teen long to cram down the quick meal she had before her. She also guzzled down at least half her water. If anyone she knew saw her, they'd be in for a shocker from the way she ate.

Namine checked her cell phone for the time, it was almost one thirty. School wouldn't be out for another hour and a half so Namine didn't really know what to do. She grabbed her tote and walked around the park for roughly twenty minutes before stopping at the playground. Kids were fighting over the swings, and she decided to help stop it.

"Hey, how come you're fighting?" She questioned.

"He stole it from me!" One of the children sobbed, pointing to the boy and swing.

"Shut up!" The boy yelled at the girl, which made her cry even more. "Stop being such a baby!"

"Hey, you're still children, its okay to be a baby sometimes." Namine scolded the boy.

"Whadda you know?" The boy shot glares at Namine.

"Well, why don't you two share the swing? I mean, it can't hurt you and she'd stop crying. It would be a win-win." Namine was thinking of her past. The boy stopped swinging.

"Hmph!" The boy wasn't going to give up easily, "Only if you push me first Big-Sis!"

"It's not 'Big-sis', it's 'Nami'" The blond corrected, "And only if you promise to give her a turn. Got that?"

"Alright, Nami." He said sounding bratty, "Now, Push! Push! Push!" He cheered. Namine proceeded to do so, which made the girl cheer up for some reason. After twenty pushes Namine stopped.

"Heey! What gives?" The boy snapped.

"Now it's her turn." Namine said pointing to the slightly cheered up little girl standing next to her. The boy grumbled and hopped off, giving his seat to the girl.

"I wanna go really high Nami!~" Shouted the girl as Namine began pushing. The whole time the little girl had a huge, bright smile on her face. When the girl's turn was done, she begged Namine to play with her in the sandbox, making the boy angry in the process because of not having a second turn. After not having as much fun swinging without the girl and Namine there, he gave up and went over to play with them.

"Okay, so we need some.... uhh... Water!!" The girl exclaimed.

"Why?" Namine sounded a bit stupid, she had never built a sand castle before.

"For the castle, Stupid!" Namine was getting a smidge annoyed by this brat. The girl quickly gave up on finding water and proceeded to create walls. Namine continued to hear the boy repeat, "You're doing it wrong!" over and over, and quite frankly, she was really annoyed.

"Hey, kid, stop critisizing us." Namine growled, she was _not_ a kids person right now.

"What's that word mean?" He questioned, with the girl still trying her hardest to keep the walls up.

"It means to..." Namine paused, trying to think of its meaning, "To find something wrong with something someone else does." She recited, trying to sound smart in front of eight-year-olds.

"Oh... Sorry..." He looked down at the sand then began helping the girl build.

"There we go, its better to have everyone working to make something better than having someone sit it out and complain about it." Namine replied to the boy's actions. The teen continued to play with these two kids until she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"You play with little kids now?" The voice laughed. Namine swung her upper half around to see her blond friend standing behind her with one hand on his mouth to hide the laughter.

"S-shut up! They were fighting and..."

"Hey Nami, Whose this?!" The eight-year-old boy stood up and glared at Roxas. Apparently this short hour that he had been with Namine, his ideals totally changed and he decided to marry her.

"Tasil, Merril this is my friend from school, Roxas."

"I don't trust him!" Tasil spouted. Merril blushed when she saw him.

"Shh Tasil! Nami's friend can stay." Merril said with an overly excited attitude. Roxas laughed again.

"No! Nami's mine, he can't have her!" The boy went in front of Namine as if acting like he was guarding her from Roxas.

"She's your bride or something?" Roxas asked.

"Yup!" Tasil replied triumphantly. Namine was blushing at the eight-year-old's idea.

"But she's too old for you..." Roxas continued, which made Namine pissed so she hit his knee with her elbow. "Gah!" Roxas shouted as he almost fell on her.

"That's okay, Mamma will surely approve of Nami, she's great!" He gave a grin. This made Namine wonder what just happened to the cheeky brat from an hour ago. Roxas was now in a squatting position to be at roughly eye-level with he kid.

"But you know... She already promised to marry me." Said Roxas with a playful frown, fooling the kid, "She can't possibly have two husbands." The male teen continued. Tasil was silent for a moment trying to think of a solution when he got an idea.

"How 'bout we monkey bars race?!" Tasil shouted, "I'm super good at that." Roxas chuckled and agreed with the boy.

"If Roxas loses, can Merril marry him?" The little girl asked in third-person.

"Sure." The blond flashed a playful grin.

The two boys got on the monkey bars and Namine shouted 'Go!' The two were off, obviously though, Roxas won. The boy looked like he had just lost the most important thing in his life so Namine promised that if she and Roxas separated, She find him and marry him. That cheered him up pretty well. Soon enough, their mothers came and they two children left. Namine was a little sad with their departure but she got over it. He bag was near the sandbox so she grabbed it and pointed to a bench for her and Roxas to sit down. Silence soon enveloped the two, until Roxas decided to speak up.

"So... Anything you want to do before I walk you home?"

"Uh Roxas... I need to tell you something.." Namine paused, trying to get the words right in her head, "My father... He saw all of you; Kairi, Riku, Sora, even you, on our surveillance system and none of you are allowed on our property at all--ever." Silence fell again, Namine had a worried but concerned face while Roxas' was confused with a little anger.

"Uhm.." Namine tried to bring something up again.

"I can't believe him! What a jackass!" Roxas stood up quickly with his fists clenched. He was just so... angry.

"Roxas..." Was all that could escape the girl's mouth.

"How are you not angry with that?" He continued, just as angry.

"Its better than not being able to see any of you ever again. I mean... He threatened to keep me caged in that.. _place_." Namine wasn't speaking very loud, "He said he'd get me home schooled and things like that."

"Does he think he's protecting you?" Roxas was trying to calm himself down, but it was not working. Now people were starting to stare at the two.

"I'm... not sure." She looked to the pavement and sighed, "Today... I wasn't suppose to go out... But I sort of... escaped. I ended up coming here and well... Axel caught me. He said my dad put up things about me missing. He said he was suppose to 'capture' me and return me home. I'm so happy he didn't..." Namine continued.

"But, don't you think your dad is even angrier now that its this late? Are you sure I shouldn't take you home?" Namine's head shot up and she looked at him. Her sapphire eyes that were slowly filling with tears gave him a terrible pain in his chest.

"I... can't go home... Please Roxas, don't make me." A few tears now trickled down her pale cheeks. Her sad face was only making him angrier, at her father.

"Is there anywhere you can go that you'd be safe from your father?" Roxas sat back on the bench, still trying to cool his head.

"I can't think of any..." Namine was trying her hardest to concentrate on anywhere safe from her father. Suddenly she remembered a place, "Star... Star something... My mom was going to take me there... before..."

"Star... something?" Roxas questioned.

"Yeah, it was the place my mom was trying to take me right before..." Namine wouldn't finish her sentence, instead she just tried wiping away the salty tears.

"Oh... That wasn't in the report." As soon as the teen said that, he wished he took it back. He didn't feel like it was right to know a person's past unless they tell you themselves. "Sorry." He whispered.

"Its not like you wanted to read it, you were forced to, right? Because you're in Org XIII?" Namine was hoping that she was right.

"Uh, yeah." He half lied, "Anyways, Nami, we should really take you somewhere."

"But where? Not home."

"Not at Kairi's house... Nor anyone else you know, that would be too easy for him to figure out."

"If only we had something that wasn't a house." Namine got a hold of her emotions by now and forced herself to stop crying. It was silent for a few minutes. The two were having a hard time thinking when Roxas got an idea.

"What about my car?" He said.

"You have a car?" It wasn't too shocking, Namine just hadn't seen it yet.

"Yeah, Although I usually just ride in Sora's. But I have to drive mine to and from school sometimes. You could probably sleep in the back seat." Yeah, that wasn't a strange idea at all. At least at the time, Namine didn't think it was.

"...Sleep in a car?" She questioned again.

"That... Or I could turn you over to your father, saying I saved you from someone, so then he'd be less mad." The female teen didn't really like either idea, but one included no going home while the other included going home and less trouble.

"I think... the second may be best." Namine hesitated before saying, she just didn't want to go home, but she really didn't want to not see her friends again.

"Alright, I guess I'll take you home then?" The girl nodded and went with Roxas to his car in the parking lot. It took almost thirty minutes for Namine to get home. Roxas was still wearing his uniform, so it seemed it would be easier to convince her father. As soon as her father saw Roxas, he almost beat the crap out of him, thinking he did something to her, luckily Namine stopped him and said he saved her from perverts. Mr. Minne was still very untrusting towards the teen, but somewhat accepted him. After an hour of negotiating, somehow Roxas got to be Namine's new personal bodyguard. The blond boy wasn't even too sure himself how it happened but just accepted it with some sort of pride. Namine was a little shocked but got over it.

After the long convincing and other stuff, Roxas finally went home, promising to meet with Namine tomorrow at school. She smiled and waved as he drove out her driveway in his scion, at least that's what Namine thought it was, she wasn't too familiar with cars.

_**Xx**_

Namine was too excited for school to sleep much. By the time she was suppose to get up, she had already been up for almost an hour. Last night, Roxas had given her a bag and told her not to look in until she was getting ready for school. Inside, was a regular school uniform, knee high white socks, a white Org XIII jacket and a note. She took out the uniform and inspected it, it was different from the others, but at the same time, the same. After she examined the clothes she looked at the note that read:

_"We're going to try harder to protect you so don't give up! -Sora_

_I hope Kuro-Nami won't show up anytime soon, can't wait to see you today! -Kairi_

_Can't wait to see more scary movies with you. -Riku_

_Good Luck! - Axel, Demyx, Larxene, Marluxia, Zexion, Lexaeus_

_All your friends will help you, so continue looking for that freedom. -"_

The last name was scribbled out, Namine didn't really understand why though because she figured it was Roxas. She had already gotten dressed into her special uniform but quickly unchanged and put on her new one. It fit perfectly. Namine ran into her bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe she was finally wearing a normal uniform-- Er, semi-normal. Technically the only difference was the coat and her socks, which the coat could be removed and the socks weren't that big of a deal.

After getting dressed, Namine quietly slipped out of the house with all her school stuff. She didn't want to arrive in a limo on her first day back so she would take a bus halfway there then walk, of course she was worried about getting bullied by someone, but she wanted to try her best. When she was getting closer to the school, a few people were whispering things like "Damn, she's already back?" "But... She looks different" and such. The closer the blond got to the doors, the better she could see her friend, waiting there for her. Sora and Kairi were waving while Roxas smiled. Axel, Namine couldn't tell what he was doing but Riku was just leaning against one of the walls. The group chatted a bit before the bell rung. Namine heard a couple people purposely whispering loud about how all those people's reputation would go down the drain. Kairi heard one of the persons whispering that and shot death glares at them. It was funny to watch them squirm with uncomfort. Roxas had his first three periods with Namine so he went with her to her classes.

Namine was shocked to see that her desk didn't have any thing written on it, which made Roxas just chuckle to himself. During the whole period, Namine only got two things thrown at her, which was a lot less than before, and none of it was gum. When the class was finished, Roxas waited for Namine so they could proceed to their Biology class. When they entered the class, Namine realized two things-- 1. Riku was in this class, and 2. So was Selphie. When Selphie saw Namine, she quickly turned her attention to something else. Riku gave a faint smile and waved. The way the desks were set up in Biology was two large tables that had two seats each. So, it was four people to a group and there wasn't a seating chart so anyone could sit anywhere. Selphie was sitting with Riku already and they had the other half of the table open so Roxas and Namine just sat there. Namine swore she heard a couple gasps when she sat down.

Selphie didn't look up until about half way into class. She took out a paper and scribbled something on it then passed it to the other female sitting across from her. Namine unfolded the note and read it.

_'I'm so sorry about last week. I really didn't mean it, I only followed the rumors! -Selph' _Namine looked up at the light auburn haired girl, she could see the sincerity in her green eyes. Namine turned her gaze back to the paper and wrote something back.

_'I'm not that mad about it. Just promise that you won't be like that again. -Nami' _Then she returned the note. Selphie's eyes widened and again quickly scribbled something down.

_'What? How can't you be mad?! -Selph'_

_'I've honestly had worse done to me.. I mean, yeah it was a shocker to hear that said right in front of me, but I can't stay hung up over things like that. -Nami'_

_'That's amazing! You can be that strong about all this bullying. -Selph'_

_'It's not... I'm just now learning to become this strong, because I now have people whom I can trust. -Nami' _Namine was having a bit of a hard time writing that, not sure if it sounded correct. When Namine passed the note, the teacher caught them and scolded them. She just told them to put it away and pay attention, but they didn't. The rest of the hour, the two girls were actually getting along pretty well, passing notes back and forth.

When the bell rung, Namine waved good-bye to her friends and went with Roxas to Algebra II. Nothing really happened there except Namine getting a lot of make up work. Both blonds ended up getting yelled at because they were talking a lot. When algebra was over, Roxas put a blindfold over Namine, took her stuff, and led her over to their lunch spot from before. Besides Namine, there was almost thirty people surrounding the three tables. Namine heard some whispers but wasn't really sure what was going.

"3... 2... 1..." Roxas yanked off the blindfold, "SURPRISE! Welcome Back Namine!" The large group of teens shouted. Kairi came running up to her and began a proper introduction of everyone.

"Freshies, stand!" She commanded. "You already know Selphie." She pointed. "That blond is Rikku, she's really hyper a lot but still awesomely funny." She pointed again. "The boy with the blond hair is Onio, The girl next to him with the pale blond hair is Terra." All waved to the surprised blond. Next for introductions was Sophomores, Roxas was going to introduce them.

"Alright, all rise!" He said jokingly, "You already know me, Sora, Kairi, and Zexion." She nodded, "These here are friends from band, Olette, Hayner, and Pence" Olette gave a kind wave, Hayner wasn't really paying attention and Pence was looking really hungry. "And... Zidane says he already met you at your party a few weeks ago. This is Garnet, his fiancee." Zidane gave Namine a wink and Garnet elbowed him in the side.

Riku was now going to introduce his fellow classmates, the Juniors. Unlike the others, Riku didn't ask his age group to stand. "Alright... Well that's Yuffie. Tidus and Yuna are going out, the other Rikku is her cousin. You already know Larxene, Demyx, and Axel. Oh, that's Squall." Riku just pointed to everyone, not really feeling the need to introduce everyone. When he said Squall, Squall yelled "It's Leon!" Sora almost whacked Riku for the crappy intros.

"At least try to introduce them," Sora glared. "Alright I've got Seniors. That's Zack, the best person ever!" Sora was obviously exaggerating, "That's Aerith, his girlfriend of two days right now." Namine technically already knew these two, from the party, but she was happy that they were dating already. "Uh... Her over there with the huge chest is Tifa." Tifa brought up her fist and glared at Sora, mouthing "Do you really want to die?" to him. "Ehehe.... anyways, and the rest are Org members." Lexaeus just sat there, looming over everyone else while Marluxia gave Sora a pissed expression.

"So, how's that for intro's?" Rikku exclaimed.

"Well... I already sort of knew Tidus, Zack, Aerith, Tifa, and Zidane. I'm kinda surprised, how come you all go here, and not some rich academy?" The blond was curious.

"Most likely the same reason as you." They all replied in unison.

"How did everyone meet?" Namine questioned again, she wanted to know how they all ended up as friends. Sora decided he'd tell the story since it was sort of a long one. Roxas and Kairi were busy getting something so they currently weren't there.

"Alright, so me, Riku, and Kairi have been friends since well... Forever. Zack use to be my neighbor, and yeah, he's like the coolest person I know!" A few other the other boys sitting there went 'Hey!' but he continued anyways, "Roxas always lived here too, but I was really the only one who knew him. Back to the story, Selphie and Tidus... and Wakka, but he couldn't be here, grew up with us too. Eventually, Tidus went out with Yuna, whose cousins with Rikku, girl Rikku. Roxas didn't always hang out with us, so he eventually made friends with Hayner, Olette, and Pence at a skate park. When Zack became friends with this dude named Cloud, who also couldn't be here, he became friends with Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie. Yuffie worked at a job with Squall." Sora was interrupted by Squall shouting 'It's Leon!' but Sora went on, "_Leon _knew Onio and Terra. Wakka started going out this this chick named Lulu, who is somehow related to Yuna, I don't really remember. When we entered high school, Roxas joined Organization XIII, and that's how he became friends with them. Eventually, we all started hanging out together and eating together. Although, most of the time, not everyone is here. Zack is been working for his dad, Aerith works on her pottery, Tifa's been training little kids, she's a black belt. Majority of the Org members go off and do stuff, except Axel and Demyx. Although Zexion does hang around a lot too. Terra and Onio seem to be off a lot too. So yeah, the regular regulars here are Selphie, Rikku, Me, Roxas, Riku, Kairi, Yuffie, Tidus, Yuna, Axel, Demyx, Squall... er _Leon,_ Olette and Hayner. I forgot about a few others, Zidane, Garnet, and Pence are off doing random stuff. I think Pence usually practices the keyboard, right?" He turned to the chubby kid who nodded.

"...Wow." Was all that left Namine's lips. When Sora finished the story, Roxas and Kairi had come back with a huge strawberry cake and pizzas. On the top of the cake, written in cursive was _'Welcome to the Group, Nami!'_ The blond's eyes widened when she saw it and a huge grin formed on her face. She couldn't help but look at it in a very longing fashion because she never ate breakfast. She was about to dip her finger into the frosting for a taste but was scolded by Kairi.

"No cake 'til the pizza is gone." She said, waving her index finger playfully. The large group was lucky that they had bought so many pizzas, 8 to be exact, because it was all gone. Most of the girls had only two to three pieces while the boys had five to six pieces each, which they all devoured fairly fast. The pizza was completely gone, not a piece remained, so they moved on to the cake. At first, Namine was a little anxious about this whole things but right now she was having a great time. Everyone got a slice, Namine's being the largest. The rest of lunch was just a bunch of silly antics. Rikku kept telling Namine of how many times she's walking in on Tidus and Yuna making out on the couch, which, Namine could've been happy not ever knowing that. Bringing up embarrassing stories made Sora burst out with the many times he's walked in on Kairi changing, plus the two with Namine. Zack told Namine anytime that the others would tease her, just to call him because he was a master with a sword, which no one denied. Tifa also said pretty much the same thing, since she was an amazing martial artist.

"Hey guys, wanna continue the party after school? At Destiny Gardens?" Kairi brought up. Everyone agreed to meet at Destiny Gardens as soon as school was up, since no one wanted to walk, they all had to pile in Sora's, Riku's, Roxas', Zack's, and Tidus' cars.

The bell rang and Namine began heading to her Art class. She didn't realize Aerith the right behind her. Aerith caught up and walked with her to Art. The way Aerith was, Namine really looked up to her. When they got to class, their teacher, Fran greeted Namine. Fran was married, but didn't like to be called by her last name, so she told the students to just call her by her first name. Their teacher was a very dark colored woman with long, white wavy hair. She was questioned a lot about it, but always told them that she was related to a very ancient race known as Viera. They lived in forests and the women were the ones who did most of the work. One distinct feature of them was their dark skin and light hair. On their way to the class, Aerith was talking about how she was a decendant of a race called Centra. Namine thought it was amazing to be a part of some sort of ancient culture like that.

The rest of Namine's classes went by pretty fast, of course there were only two left after Art though; English and French. In her English class she had Zexion while French had both Roxas and Zexion. When school was over, she met with the large group in the parking lot. The girl was a little worried that her father would some how figure out something then drag her home and trap her there, but then again, she just was starting to assume she was paranoid.

In Sora's car was Sora, Kairi, Selphie, Onio, and Terra. In Roxas' car was himself, Namine, Axel, Hayner, & Olette. Tidus' car contained himself, Yuna, Rikku, Leon, and Leon's girlfriend, Rinoa (she was making up a test during lunch so she couldn't make it). Zack's car had himself, Aerith, Tifa, Cloud, and Demyx. And finally in Riku's car was just himself and Yuffie. Everyone else in the Org had business to attend to so they didn't come, Pence had been working on a song and a new skate trick, and Zidane had to get ready for some dinner party or something like that. All the cars looked uncomfortably packed but it was funny in Roxas' car because Roxas and Axel kept fighting over the radio station until they got there. Olette was just asking Namine a lot of questions while Hayner was on Roxas' side for the radio.

When they arrived, they weren't exactly sure what they were going to be doing here, they assumed Kairi was going to make some game or something--and she did.

**

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I'm still working on improving. Anyways, Guess who Onio is? Her isn't from Kingdom Hearts, but he's _is_ from Final Fantasy, same with Terra. And the little nickname that Axel gave her? (besides that fact that it is her last name. They mean things, obviously. xD)  
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**Next chapter is going to be a fun one, I can promise you that. Please Review!**


	14. Fun at the Park

**Fun at the Park**

**I wrote this chapter over the course of the last three days. I kept getting writers blocks all over. **

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Kairi was bouncing up and down, making her friends guess what they were going to be doing. Some guesses were movie, charades, tag, red rover, building a huge human pyramid, etc. The red head started to get a little annoyed with all these wrong guesses so she finally spilled.

"We're going to have a Tournament! Geeze, haven't we done one every month since school started?! Seriously..." She grinned towards the begin but it faded into a slight frown. The group all shouted oh then laughed together. Namine didn't really know what they meant by tournament.

"What's this... Tournament?" The blond tilted her a to the side.

"Nami! The Tournament is.. Well everyone who wants to, in our group, fights one another. Not playing but not being fully serious either. Majority of us are fighters in some respect. Sora, Riku, Roxas, Tidus, Cloud, Leon, Zack, and Hayner are all pretty good with swords." She named off, "Tifa uses her fists.. She is so cool!" Tifa blushed, "Rikku, Selphie, Axel and Yuffie tend to fight kind of randomly, but they don't always enter..." Kairi paused, making sure she was over everyone, "But that's about it, I can only fight a little, Onio doesn't fight much, neither Terra. Yuna and Aerith are usually the 'Health Committee' of the group, helping the others when they get super hurt. Oh, Rinoa does that too! But she doesn't like to see Squa--Leon fighting." When Kairi was done, Namine had a shocked look on her face.

"And... You're allowed to fight like this?" She questioned, having a hard time believing this.

"Yup!" Kairi winked, "Because we have Org XIII members with us. We can pretty much get away with anything, and besides, its all clean fun!" She grabbed on Namine's free arm (because Olette had taken the other) and brought her over to the spot where they'd watch. Everyone was getting their equipment out, Tifa pulled out her gloves, all the boys who were good with swords had to get stuggle bats, because even though they had Org XIII members with them, no 'lethal weapons' were allowed. (Tifa was an exception, she just toned down her strength.)

Kairi began to write everyone's name who was participating in the Tournament down; Cloud, Sora, Roxas, Tidus, Leon, Hayner, Tifa, Rikku, Yuffie, and Axel. Zack and Riku decided to sit this one out. Mainly because Zack almost always won. Riku was tired from his practice and didn't feel like fighting.

"Hey, so what's the prize?" Shouted Tidus.

"Uhm..." Kairi couldn't think of anything, "Besides the month's worth of bragging, how 'bout picking one person you want to do whatever you want for that period of time?" It wasn't that great of a prize, but whatever.

All the boys grinned and cheered. Namine heard a chuckle coming from Kairi who said, "They are so easily fired up." Namine couldn't help but agree and laugh along too.

Demyx came skipping down to where all the girls were sitting like an idiot. "So~ I'm taking bets! Whose in?!" He cheered, Demyx didn't like fighting, so he always sat out. Riku came over saying his money was on Cloud. Zack jogged over and sat next to Aerith before saying he wants Sora to win. Olette was agreeing with Zack on Sora. Aerith, Selphie, and Kairi were rooting for Tifa. Onio said he wanted Tidus to win, same with Yuna. Terra, Rinoa and Demyx said they wanted Leon to win. Yuffie and Rikku both whined that no one was rooting for them, which made everyone laugh at their similar personalities.

"So Nami, who do you want to win?" Almost everyone sitting down asked.

"Um.. Do I have to choose?" She asked timidly.

"Of course!" Kairi blurted.

"Then..." She scanned over the fighters, "Why not Roxas?" She figured that'd be a fine choice for something like this. Olette giggled a little while Kairi's face formed a huge grin. Namine pretended like they did nothing and asked the question everyone wanted to hear; "Who is fighting first?" The red head put her hand into a hat that had the names of everyone participating in it and pulled out two names: Rikku and Hayner.

_**ROUND ONE: One on One**_

_Fight One_

Before the fight, Rikku changed into something that she'd be able to move quick in; She kept the skirt but changed her shirt into something tighter than the uniform and slid on some black short shorts underneath the skirt. She was standing ready to fight, bobbing back and forth with a smirk on her face.

Hayner didn't look too worried, apparently he didn't see Rikku as a threat, and she didn't like that. The blond male got into his comfortable fighting stance, then Kairi shouted "Go!"

Rikku, still bouncing back and forth giggled, "Cunno!~" And she hit him hard in an instant. Hayner had to double take what just hit him, was she really this fast? Hell yes she was, and she wasn't going to be easy. He lifted his guard, while Rikku was waiting for him to try and hit her. The peppy girl was going to at least give him a couple hits before she finished. Because of the short stand still, Hayner decided to finally attack, which Rikku dodged easily, then elbowed him in the back so he fell to the ground. "Cheh." Hayner got back on his feet as fast as he could and swung a few more times at the other blond he was fighting, all of which she avoided.

"Rikku, stop playing with him, you're making him look even worse!" Yuna shouted with a grin.

"Hayner, just give up! You can't look any worse than this..." Olette chimed in too.

"Alrighty!~" Rikku sang as she attacked Hayner a few more times, making him give up.

"I win!~ I win!~" The perky blond cheered as she stood with one foot over Hayner's body in the dirt.

"I can't believe I got beat by a girl..." He grumbled.

"Alright, alright next fight is..." Kairi pulled out the names again, "Tidus and Yuffie."

_Fight Two_

Yuffie had taken off her skirt completely; she kept shorts on at all times, and proceeded to get comfortable with the fight that was about to happen. This hyper-active teen stated she was of ninja decent, therefor being a ninja and needed to tap into her ninja powers. Tidus didn't hesitate to attack her when Kairi said go. He figured she was like... A second Rikku, and Tidus could easily handle Rikku. He tightened his grip on his struggle bat and proceeded to attack, as strong and as fast as he could-- quick, strong hits, that's the only way to beat her. Yuffie wasn't able to dodge all, but she did dodge many of the hits. Yuffie's attack style was very much like Rikku's, quick hits that were hard to avoid, but somehow Tidus could. Probably from all the training he has to do, his speed was not too much lower than Rikku's.

Their fight was longer than the last because of the constant 'attack tag' they were doing--Yuffie'd hit a few times then Tidus, then some misses by both, then more hits. Yuffie looked like she was getting a little tired but kept trying until Tidus whacked her on the head. Yuffie got all wobbly then fell down, confused and unable to fight, so Tidus won.

"No fair! If my ninjustu would've worked, I swear I would've won!" She wailed. Everyone did technically know that her family owned a special school that did teach things about ninja but they didn't know if things like ninjustu actually worked or not.

"Heh, so Yuna, how was that?" He shouted proudly with a grin.

"Wonderful." She just gave a sincere smile.

"Ugh... Overrated!~" Yuffie cried at their flirting. Tidus shot a glare at his defeated opponent then went to watch the next fight.

"Nami, you announce next." Kairi said, shoving the hat into her lap.

"Uh," She pulled out two names carefully, "Leon and Cloud." She read.

_Fight Three_

Neither of the fighters looked serious, Cloud looked a little bored, while Leon was... Staring off at a feather falling to the ground. By the time Kairi shouted go, the two were still standing there idly.

"Uh, you guys gonna fight?" Kairi shouted, annoyed at the lack of entertainment.

"Oh... Uh okay." Was all that left Cloud's mouth. He didn't seem too eager to fight but began anyways. Leon suddenly looked very serious for some reason and the two began duking it out.

Namine heard a sigh from behind her-- it was Tifa.

"He's always like this... He won't fight 100% unless its with _him_. He needs to get over the past. And he won't let anyone in... I swear he needs to get over his..." Tifa sighed again.

"His emo-ness." Zack laughed. Aerith nodded with disapproval so the older spiky haired teen decided not to interfere in 'girl talk.'

"He just needs some time, I'm sure he'll come around to you Tifa." Aerith said in a soothing voice.

"But ever since that time with you, Aerith, he... Hasn't been the same. We... All four of us use to be so close, but Cloud... He shut himself off from us..." Tifa stared off at the fight, "From me..." She whispered.

"I know he cherishes you, that's why he refuses to give you up." The brunette with the pink ribbon commented.

"Are you sure he doesn't love _you?_" The black haired teen sounded bitter.

"No... Trust me. I feel more of a... Sibling connect to him. Like I'm the older sister. Or even a motherly feeling." Aerith smiled.

The fight continued on for almost ten minutes before Cloud emerged victorious. He had a stoic look on his face, while Leon looked a little angry. Rinoa would fix that right up though.

"Here, Olette, your turn." Namine passed the hat to the brunette.

"Hmm... Alrighty, next is..." She announce, "Axel and Tifa!"

_Fight Four_

Tifa sighed then stood to enter the 'ring'. Axel was all hyped up and making up taunts to say. When Kairi shouted go, Tifa ran at Axel who stuck up his arms to guard. She punched his arms and sent him back a few feet.

"H-hey! What about the limit?!" He shouted at her.

"I don't feel like having that much of a limit right now, be happy I didn't send you flying." She growled and went in for another hit. Axel managed to evade it, but just barely. It didn't look like much of a fight, just cat and mouse. Axel was fleeing from Tifa, who looked like she was calmly chasing after him. The fiery red head pulled something out of his coat and threw it in the direction of Tifa. When it hit, a bright, blinding light burst out, stunning Tifa. Axel's emerald eyes showed faint traces of laughter as he ran at Tifa trying to land a blow, which he did. Unfortunately, Tifa grabbed his arm and swung him around until she finally threw him on the ground. He raised his hand and shouted, "I give, I give! If we could use real weapons, I would've won though. But damn, your strength is... Wow, Tifa." The red head stood up and walked to where everyone else was sitting. He sat next to Roxas, who was laughing at him.

"You could've used a struggle bat, Axel."

"Those things suck. Besides I can't use them for crap." Axel grunted.

"So the next fighters are Sora and Roxas." Aerith stated, paying attention that those where the only two left.

_Fight Five_

Sora looked a little worried, "Why do I always end up fighting Roxas in the first round?! He always wins! Destiny hates me!" He cried. Roxas was laughing at the pathetic show Sora was preforming.

"Try and get better then." Riku shouted at Sora, who glared back.

"Just fight already!" Kairi barked.

Even though Sora could read Roxas' movements, he was still a very tough opponent. Roxas on the other hand, had never lost to Sora before, and didn't plan on doing so now.

"If you win, are you going to command Kairi around? Huh?" Roxas asked just loud enough for the two to hear when their struggle bats clashed.

"S-shut up! I wouldn't do that... Probably." Sora said with another swing. Roxas laughed at the comment as hit Sora in the leg. Roxas looked like he was about to hit his legs again so Sora went to block it. The spiky haired blond then quickly moved the bat above Sora and swung down, bringing the boy down with the hit.

"Cheap shot, Roxas!" He staggered getting back up. Both boys were getting tired, but only Sora was showing it, after another few minutes of attacking, Sora gave up.

"You've just got more endurance than me!" He glared.

"Sure, sure."

"Roxas... Don't loose!" He shouted, giving his blond friend a determined gaze.

"So for round two... The fighters are Rikku, Tidus, Cloud, Tifa, and Roxas," Kairi paused for a sneeze, "We'll start round two in twenty minutes so Roxas and Tifa can rest up a bit, since they were the last two."

"Alright, I'm taking bets now for the second round, anyone who wants to change can. New losers can bet too!" Demyx cheered. Hayner scowled when Demyx added the last part.

Kairi, Aerith, and Selphie were still betting on Tifa, now along with Yuffie. Riku and now Sora and Zack were cheering for Cloud. Onio, Yuna, and Leon were choosing Tidus. Namine, Axel, and Hayner were rooting for Roxas. Finally, Olette, Rinoa, Demyx and Terra were on Rikku's side. Before the twenty minutes were up, Namine decided she should give some words of encouragement to Roxas.

"Hey Roxas." She said in her quiet voice.

"Hey Nami, so who you betting on?" He said sounding a bit cheeky.

"You, so don't loose okay?" The little blond said playfully.

"Guess I can't then, can I?"

"Nope! Anyways, good luck, I hope you win." Namine smiled then sat back down for the next round was about to begin.

_**ROUND TWO: An All Out Brawl**_

"Okay, so for round two, all five have to fight each other. That way it's fair. The final two will then fight in round three. Got that?" Kairi stated. All five agreed and went to the fighting area.

"Let's Go!~" Kairi cheered to start the fight.

Tifa went for Cloud, who seemed like the strongest one she'd be facing. Roxas was going for Tidus, while Rikku, well she was just going after everyone. Cloud didn't really want to fight Tifa, but she wouldn't stop hitting him so he had to fight back. She could tell that he wasn't fully trying though, which made her a little pissed, so she just hit harder. While Tifa was attacking Cloud, who wouldn't fight back, Roxas was having a tough time with Tidus. He was pretty fast. Whenever he had fought him before, he'd usually loose, but he felt like he needed to win. Roxas tried to be as quick as possible to hit the other blond. (**a/n**: I just realized that everyone except Tifa is a blond in this round. xD) Rikku kept running at Tifa, who would block the other girls hits easily then send her a few punches ten times stronger. Rikku was only able to do this a few times before she had to stop fighting, Tifa's blows were already starting to bruise a little.

"No fair, Tifa you're too strong!" The blond wailed as she left the fighting area.

"Rikku's Out!~" Demyx screech. He was a little upset because that's who he wanted to win, but he got over it, this fight was interesting.

Roxas was still going head to head with Tidus. Tidus was starting to have a hard time with Roxas' attacks, they were getting faster. His opponent's determination was definately a strong factor. Soon enough, Tidus' hits were missing more and more and Roxas' hits were making contact. Because of this, Tidus decided maybe it would be best just to give up, so he did. A couple of people from the group shouted in disappointment as he gave a grin and walk towards them.

Three were left; Tifa, Cloud, and Roxas. Tifa was wailing on Cloud like crazy and Roxas wasn't sure if he should step in or not. It looked intense, like if he were to try and fight, Tifa would send him to the hospital.

"What the hell, Cloud?!" She shouted as her kicks were deflected by his blocking.

"What are you talking about Tifa?" He asked as he deflected another punch.

"You've been so.... Depressing since what Sephiroth did! Why won't you get over it?! Aerith did! Everyone did, except you!" She continued with a few punches aimed for the blond's face.

"But... It was my fault!" He was still blocking all her attacks.

"No one blames you! Stop being like this!" Tifa threw one more punch then stopped, lowering her head. He pause surprised Cloud so he lowered his bat, "...Or are you acting like this because of Aerith..?" She whispered. "I guess she's the only person I can loose to..." Her head shot back up, with a glare in her eyes. "Here just finish me so you can face Roxas and win already."

"Tifa..." He dropped his bat, "I'm not going to do that, here you won." Tifa's anger was still pretty high and the only thing that would make it better right now was one thing. She socked Cloud in the face, then once again in the stomach, sending him back a few feet.

"Fine." She glared at him still. The two had been friends since childhood so Tifa's attacks didn't hurt him as much since she tended to hurt him a lot on accident, but it still hurt him.

"I'm out." Cloud said as he walked back holding his stomach a little.

"Finalists are Roxas and Tifa!" Kairi announced, "Alright, next fight! The sun is getting lower and Nami'll have to go soon." She frowned at the last part.

_**ROUND THREE: Grand Finale**_

"Does Roxas even have a chance of winning?" Namine asked.

"Nope. Tifa is a lot stronger than him. Honestly the strongest is probably somewhere between Cloud and Zack. Tifa close behind. Then Tidus, Leon, Axel, Demyx, Rikku, Roxas and Riku. Next would probably be Sora and Yuffie. Hayner's not that strong." Hayner yelled at Kairi for the last part.

"....Wow." Namine felt bad for Roxas.

Back on the battle ground, Roxas and Tifa were standing there. Roxas was deciding wiether or not to just give up, knowing that he stood no chance against the older, more powerful girl standing in front of him.

"Don't you dare give up before we even start, Roxas, or I'll just beat you even harder." Tifa was still really angry but her eager fighting side was showing.

"Er..." Roxas pulled up his bat, in a stance that would be ready for anything she threw at him.

"Who do you want to win this for? Namine?" She giggled as she ran at him with lightning fast speed.

"Wha?! No!" Her comment made him unable to properly block her hit and he was sent back. She saw him blush like crazy when the dust settled.

"So it's true? Well, I'm going for Cloud, I need to get him back to the way he was, not so... ugh" She ran at him again, punching him in the stomach, sending him into the air where she preformed a few more hits until he landed to the ground.

"I just said no to that! I don't like her like that!" He shouted as he tried to get off the ground.

"Sure... Then why'd you blush, you like her right?" She said with a smirk.

"No! I didn't... I don't... I have no idea! Okay?! I might like her, but I don't know. Hell, why are we even talking about this?!" He glared at her standing next to him.

"Because, you seem like you do." She bent down and grabbed his arm, " I know you really want to win this, but I need this to help Cloud. Either stay down, or give up, please Roxas." She said with a desperate smile.

"Alright..." He grabbed her hand and she help him stand, "I give! Tifa's too strong." He shouted, glancing at his opponent.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Kairi turned her head to Demyx, "How much did I win? Huh!?"

"Five bucks." Demyx forked over the money and Kairi, Aerith, Selphie and Yuffie all squeed with delight about the new money they had gotten.

"So Tifa, you're the new champ. Bragging rights transfer from Zack to you and you can pick someone you wish to command for the entire month." Kairi said in an all mighty voice.

"I pick Cloud." She glared over at him. He looked a bit surprised, while everyone else didn't. They all pretty much expected it.

The gang hung out for another hour, discussing their favorite fights; most said it was the Rikku and Hayner one, but they also really enjoyed watching Tifa beat Cloud. Olette lived near the park so Hayner walked her home. Axel and Demyx were going to stay at the park and 'patrol' around for a while. Sora took Kairi and Selphie home, Zack lived next door to Cloud, so both them and Tifa and Aerith were going over there for a little. Onio, Terra, and Yuffie were wanting to stay a bit longer so they just stayed. Tidus had to take Yuna home, and since Rikku lived with Yuna she had to go too. Riku drove home by himself, a little disappointed. Roxas offered to take Namine home, and she couldn't refuse. So the two ended up riding together. In the car it was pretty quiet, so Namine decided to make some sort of conversation.

"You're fight was fun to watch." She looked out the window.

"I didn't get to land any blows though." He hunched over, looking a little angry.

"It's not that big of a deal that you didn't win. I mean... You got to the final round, that's pretty awesome." Namine was a little afraid she offended him with what she had just said.

"I guess. Can I change the station?" He asked pointing the radio.

"Sure, its your car." The petite blond glanced over at the spiky haired driver. He switched through a couple different stationed until he stopped at one that had a song he liked. Slowly, he began to sing along, but not very loud. Namine, kind of bored in the car, was listening intently to his voice, it sounded... amazing.

"Your singing voice.... Wow, it's amazing!" She couldn't believe it. Roxas stopped singing, it seemed like he forgot Namine was in the car.

"Aw... Why'd you stop? Keep singing, its very relaxing." Namine settled a bit more in her seat then continued, "Hey, did you ever think about becoming a singer?"

"When I was little, now I want to be get my band famous, or be a cop." He replied, his lit up when he talked about his dreams.

"Are you any good?" She asked again.

"I'm pretty good with the drums and I'm learning bass right now. Me, Hayner, Pence, and Demyx are in a band together right now. Olette is part of it too, but she really is only part of a few songs. Axel is our self-proclaimed manager." He laughed but still paying attention to the road, "Turn here right?"

"Actually, I'll just get out here, my dad might go crazy again." She sighed, "Tell me when you have a concert or whatever they're called, I'll help promote and I'll definitely be there." She smiled as she grabbed her bag and waved good-bye to the boy still in the car.

"Later Nami." He said as he drove away.

Namine walked for about five minutes until she made it to her house and entered. Luckily, she didn't get screamed at by her father. Mr. Minne was off in his study, doing something mostlikey business related. The blond went up to her room and pulled out her homework. She worked on that for almost an hour and a half then finally went to bed when she finished.

**

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Please review!**


	15. Did You Find It?

**Did You Find It?  
**

**Major writing block all throughout this chapter. Most the the chapters have been planned out, but some are still kind of 'Ehhh?'**

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The next two weeks went by fairly quick for Namine. Kairi told Namine about the King & Queen event (Which Namine had never even heard about.) and campaigning for Kairi to win. At the end of the week, they would finally announce the winner's at the Spring Formal. The only thing Namine had to do was somehow get her father's permission to go. The bullying and teasing had remained pretty much the same since she came back. Tifa and Cloud seemed to be getting along better too, even though Namine didn't know what was going on with them, she was happy to see them as what Kairi described as 'Their happy'.

When Namine got home from school that day, she dropped her book bag off in her room, removed her shoes, then proceeded to her father's study. _'Please, just this once'_ She thought as she went down the hall.

_Knock Knock_

"F-father?" She peeked her head into her father's study.

"What?" He said in a booming voice.

"Uhm.." She stepped into the room, "C-Could..." _'C'mon Nami! Pull yourself together. Everyone else is trying hard... Why can't you?!' _She yelled in her head.

"Out with it already! I don't have time to listen to you stutter!" He didn't lift his head from his desk, "Useless girl." He mumbled quietly, but she could still barely hear him.

"C-could... May I... Go to something this Friday?" The blond asked, still with a little fear in her voice. It was silent, except for the sound of a pen writing something.

"It... would only be until ten. And I have a ride home." She persisted, trying to get an answer.

"Hmph." He grunted then motioned his hand for her to leave. Namine's face lite up and she turned to exit the room.

"Thank you, Father." By the way her voice was, he could tell she was happy. The way Namine would get answers from her father was if he said nothing or didn't say no, it was okay but if he did say no, then she couldn't.

The little bird returned to her room where she did her homework then painted before going to bed. Before she went to sleep though, she sent Kairi a text telling her that she could go. The red head sent a bunch of texts back, all of which Namine ignored because of her slumber. When Namine woke up the next morning, the first text she read was about the two going shopping for dresses. _'Heh, she really likes to shop'_ She laughed to herself.

XoX

After school, Kairi asked Sora to give them a ride to the shopping plaza in the center of town. Roxas heard about the shopping so decided to ask Sora if he wanted to look at tuxes. Axel burst onto the scene demanding once again to go. (Most of them wanted to dress nice because of King & Queen event.) Because Roxas brought his car, he would trail after Sora and the girls with Axel sitting right beside him. All the way there, Axel wouldn't stop changing the radio until Roxas finally just shut it off completely. In Sora's car, he just listen to the girl chat about dresses--Kairi was the one mainly talking though.

When they arrived, Kairi scanned the plaza, spotting two dress shops. The red head grabbed the little blond's arm and began in the direction of the closer of the two.

"Call me or Nami if you need anything!" She shouted and waved as she walked. Namine looked terrified at the red head dragging her away. She tried to claw free, but that didn't really help her at all. When the two got to the first boutique, Kairi looked directly at Namine.

"Jeeze, why were you so squirmy?" She asked. Namine was catching her breath.

"You..." She sighed, "Never mind, why don't we go in?" So the girls entered and looked around. Kairi saw a few that she thought would look perfect on the blond, but Namine didn't really like them much. Eventually, Kairi found a yellow strapless cocktail dress with a black ribbon going across with a single gold star on the bow of the ribbon. Unlike Kairi though, Namine was a bit more picky, sure she had usually gotten dresses from places like France and such, but she didn't enjoy wearing them. While they were still looking Kairi got a call from Sora.

"Hey Sora, what's up?" Kairi asked cheerfully.

"Kaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiri! Why do I have to wear a suit, it's so laaaaaaaaame. Axel won't stop shoving those kind of suits from the 80's at me telling me to try it. Roxas already found one... But this is so boring!" He whined.

"Fine." She said, her cheerfulness died down.

"R-Really?! I can?!" He was surprised.

"Yup, as long as you wear a dress then, I guess I wear the suit." She said, shushing Namine who was giggling.

"That's even worse! Fine, I'll continue looking then, geeze." The girls heard the sound of someone hitting something else, "Sorry, gotta go, Axel just broke something I think." _Click._

"Back to shopping for you then?" The red head asked.

"Sure. let's try the next store, We've gone through almost everything here." Namine said, pointing to the exit.

"Alrighty Nami, Let me just pay for this!~" She stated as she went to the cashier.

"This dress will be... $73.85, ma'am." Said the clerk.

"Hold on, lemme get my wallet." She fished around in her school bag for her wallet. When she found it she took it out and counted the cash. "Aw, crap. Nami, do you have a twenty maybe? I've only got $58." Namine walked over to her friend while pulling out her wallet. Kairi glanced into it when she pulled out the twenty and kept gasping at the large amount still in there.

"Here Kairi." The blond said, waving the money in Kairi's face to get her attention.

"Huh...? Oh, thanks Nami. Here." She handed her $58 and Namine's twenty to the clerk, got the change and her dress then left. The girls headed off to the other dress boutique, this time not with Kairi dragging Namine along behind her, but casually walking.

"So Nami, what companies does your family own?" Kairi asked as they passed a fountain.

"It's just my dad... The biggest one he owns is... Memories Inc. White is another one that's fairly big too." The pale girl stated, not really like this conversation.

"What happened to your mom...?" Even though in a way, Kairi sort of already knew.

"She..." Namine paused, feeling something painful in her chest, "Died."

"If you don't mind my asking.... How?" Kairi wanted to know her friend's past. It was silent as Namine was trying to answer.

"I don't feel completely ready to talk about it... Sorry... It's just.." Her chest was hurting even more.

"I get it, I get it. When you feel ready, I'll listen to it, fully." The red head smiled and set her arm on Namine's shoulder to comfort her.

"Thanks Kairi." She felt a little better, "Oh we're here, let's go in." Kairi walked in first and immediately ran to the closest rack and began searching for Namine's dress. The blond just walked in and looked at colors, if it was a color she liked and the dress looked good too, then she'd probably get it. The searching went on for a while, she'd find a dress that looked great, but she didn't like the color or the color was amazing but the dress wasn't very good. Eventually even the boys came in to help look. Kairi tried to get them to leave because she didn't want them to see the dress that Namine might get or her dress. She got them to finally leave by offering them money for ice cream, and they wouldn't refuse that. The red head kept returning to Namine with tons of gowns in her arms, all of which Namine didn't really like. After this batch of dresses, Kairi was exhausted so she sat down on one of the little benches throughout the store.

"You are so picky..." She sighed, "We went through pretty much all of them." She said looking around at the beautiful gowns.

"Sorry.."

"Why are you apologizing, its not like you're doing anything wrong." The red head gave the other girl a bit of a confused look.

"Oh. Sor--Er. I guess I'll look somewhere else for a dress... Besides that, I still have plenty of gowns at home so its not a bit deal to use one of those." A pale arm reached out in front of Kairi, for her to take.

"Thanks. But you shouldn't wear a dress you've already worn. It's bad luck." She stated as she grabbed the arm to hoist herself up.

"It is?" Namine had never heard of that before.

"Of course! Just like Black Roses! Those things are cursed!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Black Roses...?" The blond was apparently learning a lot right now.

"Yeah, you know, roses that are black?"

"Yeah..." She was pretending to know. Silence fell between the two.

"Well, let's go meet the guys at the ice cream place." Kairi sighed again. She was a little disappointed that Namine didn't find a dress. The duo left the shop and walked towards the ice cream shop. Even though Kairi was talking, Namine wasn't really paying close attention, bringing her gaze to the shop windows they passed. One was a hat shop, another a shoe place. On the next window, the blond's eyes widened. She even gasped a bit too. In the window, was a lavender halter cocktail dress that had tiny flower embroideries on the hem. The dress went to midcalf, and Namine loved the way it looked. The blond unlinked her arm with Kairi and immediately ran inside the store to purchase it. Kairi didn't know what happened until she looked in the window and saw the dress.

"That... would... look... Amazing on her!" She couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Kairi watched as the salesperson took the dress off the manniequin and gave it to Namine to purchase. As soon as she went it, she was out already with a bag in her hand.

"You definately picked a great gown, Nami!" The red head winked. The two continued to gab as they approached the boys at their table.

"So you find one Nami?" Axel asked.

"Yup." Both girls answered with a cheerful grin.

"I was only talking to Nami." The spiky red head turned his attention back to the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream he was eating.

"Shut up!" She shot a glare at Axel, "Anyways, Hey! We should get some ice cream too!" And she forced Namine to sit down with her.

"Hey waiter!~ Two Sea Salt ice creams!" Her eyes met with Namine's, "That's fine, right Nami?" Namine nodded, looking down at her bag.

"So, did you find a good one?" Asked the male blond sitting on her left.

"Yeah." Her eyes were sparkling while she was looking at it. It was silent around the table except for the sound of Axel stirring his spoon around in the glass that once held his ice cream.

"So Kairi... Will you go with me to the dance?" Sora spoke.

"Huh? Weren't we already going to go together?" She was still waiting for that ice cream.

"Well I never actually asked you..." His face started to go a little red.

"Of course I'll go with you, Sora." She chuckled. Sora jumped with joy when the waiter came back with two ice creams. The guy almost spilled them. Namine quickly took a spoonful of the salty ice cream and made a funny face. The rest of the teens couldn't help laugh at her expression, then Axel looked over at Kairi who was almost choking her her ice cream from laughing so hard. The male redhead fell out of his seat, dragging Roxas down too. The two hit the pavement with a thud. Roxas punched Axel in the arm and returned to his seat, that had tipped over.

"Er, so, Nami, this the first time you've had Sea Salt Ice Cream?" He asked, ignoring the names Axel was calling him.

"Uhm... Nope. Me and Kairi got this when we went shopping last time. Although, it was a bar, not... this?" She answered, a bit unsure if he understood what she meant.

"Yeah, the bars are usually sweeter. So, how do you like it?" He inquired, watching as she took another spoonful.

"It's salty. But something about it... I like it!" She chirped. It took her a few more spoonfuls to officially stop the funny faces she was making.

"Ugh, that ice cream is too salty! Cookie Dough is better!" Axel butted in, now back in his chair, staring at the empty glass that once held his ice cream.

"Axel, you just can't handle the awesome-ness that is this ice cream!" Sora joked.

"Bah." Was all that left his lips before ordering another medium Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough glass.

"How are you not fat?" Kairi asked, looking like she wanted to know his secrets.

"I... walk a lot?" The female redhead sighed when she heard the answer.

"What, did you expect some amazing diet plan I do?" He laughed as his ice cream came over, "Thank you~" He said as he began to eat again.

Namine tried to eat as much as she could, but she was defeated after only eating half.

"Want me to finish that for you?" Roxas asked merrily.

"Sure." The little bird replied. The blond boy swooped in and snatched up the ice cream like he was about to fight for it. Namine jumped a little in her seat from the shock.

"Don't get in the way of him and his ice cream!" Sora laughed. By now Kairi had finished and was calling Axel a pig, because that's what he looked like while he was eating. In an instant, Roxas was done, although it looked like he got more of it on his face than in his mouth. He didn't really know why they all were trying so hard to not laugh. Namine thought he looked like a little puppy who had gotten into light blue mud, it was cute but hilarious at the same time.

"What's so funny?" He questioned.

"Your... Nothing! Never mind!" Kairi said, choking back the giggles. She took out her celll phone as fast as she could and started taking pictures.

"Nami... Is there something on my face?" He looked a little sad when he was asking that, but Namine couldn't help but cover her mouth, trying to hold back anything she might say. Sora and Kairi were signaling her not to mention it. Roxas wasn't angry, just a little annoyed, so he grabbed Kairi's phone and all watched as his face went red. It looked like he was about to delete them before Kairi was able to snatch her phone back.

"You will not delete my pictures, Roxas!" She sent off death glares. So instead of continuing to try to get the phone, he'd rather just get the stupid ice cream off his face.

"Aw, and you looked so cute!" Sora said, "Right Namine?" He nudged her in her side.

"H-huh!? Yeah." She chuckled a little. Silence fell over the five again, as they watched Axel finish off the last of his second ice cream.

"Hey Sora, I need to get home to do my homework." Kairi said, looking at the clock on her cell.

"Yeah it is almost 6.... We should probably get going. Nam, you coming with us?" Questioned Sora.

"Sure." She said as she grabbed her bag. Roxas got up too saying, "Axel, get the bill since you ate the most." He laughed as he went to his car to wait for the redhead to finish with the bill.

Eventually, they left and were all home. Namine had a pretty good time, but now it was time for homework, which is what she did after she hung up her new dress in her wardrobe.

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**Next chapter will be the dance, yippee! I have a few ideas for it, but I'm not completely sure if I'll use them all. Anyways I hope you enjoyed it and please continue to _R__eview_!~**


	16. Who Will It Be

**Who Will It Be  
**

**Sorry for this chapter taking so long, I knew what I would write for the end and beginning, and the rest was sort of improv/writer's block. Plus, my Drama class have been going insane with The Wizard of Oz and my Physical Therapy has been... Ugh. Anyway, while writing this chapter, I felt that it was longer than the others but when I found out it wasn't I was just like ":o orly?" hahahaha. Anyways, please enjoy chapter 16!**

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During school on Friday, the only thing anyone was talking about was the Spring Formal and who would be the King and Queen. Namine heard that lots of girl were running but it was really only a competition between Kairi and some girl named Ashe. For King, a lot of jocks were running, including Sora. Namine had already submitted her vote when she bought the ticket, Kairi and Sora. The blond didn't really know why her two friends were running but she knew that at least Kairi stood a good chance. Sora on the other hand, let's just say some of the jocks were stars of the football and basketball teams.

When school ended, Kairi and Namine had Sora drive them over to Namine's mansion to drop off her stuff and pick up her dress, make up, and a few other accessories. Because she wasn't sure how her father would react to seeing her friends, she refused to let either of them in and went to get her things herself. It only took a few minutes before she reappeared outside the mansion, holding what looked like four to five bags. Namine began running towards the car but it looked more like a very awkward jog by someone who was clumsy. Sora couldn't help but laugh at the sight, Kairi even giggled a little. When the little bird finally reached the car after her awkward run, she questioned the two on the laughter but decided she didn't really want to know. The three drove off towards Kairi's house, to prepare for the dance that would be in four hours.

Sora dropped the girls off at Kairi's house then returned to his to get changed. Kairi ran inside, she was very excited. She waved to her mother then ran upstairs. Namine soon followed, although she wasn't running.

"Kairi! I've made you a Paopu cake for good luck! Do you want a piece before you get ready?" Her mother called. Kairi threw down her stuff and her face lit up with thoughts about the delicious cake that tasted like her favorite fruit. She shouted she'd be right down with Nami in a second. Kairi grabbed Namine by the arm and brought her downstairs, raving about how amazing this cake was.

"Ah, aren't you that girl that visited a while ago?" Mrs. Kaze asked.

"Mom! Jeeze, sorry Nami, I never properly introduced you to my mom." The red head looked at her mother, "Mom, this is Namine Blanc." She looked back over at Namine, "Nami, this is my mom, Trinia Kaze."

"What a pretty name." Namine said quietly. Mrs. Kaze chuckled then quickly stopped.

"Your last name... is Blanc?" She questioned as she went to cut a few pieces of cake.

"Yes." The blond sighed a little, "But it's my mother's last name." Kairi's mother froze for a minute.

"W-was... your m-mother Marie Blanc...?" Mrs. Kaze had a mixture of emotions going across her face.

"Yes..." Namine looked down. While Kairi's mother jumped then ran to the saddened blond.

"Oh my...! H-how has she been?! She was suppose to come and visit me... Jeeze," The mother unclasped her grip and counted a little with her fingers, "In almost 6-7 years." Namine froze.

"M-my.... M-m-my... m-mom... S-she passed a-away about 6 years ago." During this whole scene, Kairi was standing there in awe. Her mother's face went white and she grasped onto the pale girl once again.

"I-I'm..! Oh my god! I am so sorry!" The redhead's mom had a few tears stream down her cheek, "Back in high school, the two of us were best friends. I remember... Her parents forced her into marrying that man. Once high school was over... I never got to speak with her much because of him." She sighed then gave the blond another hug, "If you ever need somewhere to stay or anything at all, me and Kairi will always be here to lend you a hand." Mrs. Kaze finally pulled away and returned to the cake. She still looked pretty sad, but also looked happy at the same time.

When the duo had finally gotten some cake, Namine wasn't that hungry so she only took a few bites. Kairi couldn't resist her favorite food even in she weren't hungry and chowed down like no tomorrow. The two said thank and her mother gave Namine another hug then they went upstairs. Namine grabbed her dress and headed towards the bathroom.

"Scared someone'll bust in again?" The red head laughed. Namine's face went a light pink color then she laughed, of course what happened was embarrassing but still, it was also pretty funny. In she went, and out she came, with her beautiful lavender dress now on. When she returned to the room, Kairi was also in her gown. The redhead gestured for the other girl to come towards her so she did.

"Alright, leave your hair and make-up to me!" Kairi gave a peace sigh for victory. She brought Namine back into the bathroom and began applying make-up to the fair skinned girl. Because Kairi wanted to get it just right, it took her almost a half hour just for make-up on Nami. When Namine's make-up was finished, Kairi began working on her own, that way she didn't have to get it back out later for herself. Her's took a little less time, but she was still being a perfectionist about it. Then she began on Namine's hair. The blond didn't really know what kind of style Kairi was planing on doing but she was sure that it would look great. Namine looked in the bathroom mirror in amazement, her hair was straight for the most part, with a few curls scattered about on top. Kairi sighed looking a little disappointed for some reason. Namine questioned it, then Kairi disappeared in her room for a few minutes only to return with a silver necklace with a purple jewel on it. The redhead placed it around Namine's neck and said "Perfect!" Then Kairi shoved Namine out of the bathroom so she could finish herself. The beautiful blond went back into Kairi's room to find her shoes. They were a deep purple color heel with a rounded toe. The heel wasn't more than an inch. They almost looked like slip-ons just with a heel. They had a ribbon that tied around her ankle to a bow, they looked pretty cute. While Kairi was still doing her hair, Namine went downstairs. There was only an hour left until the dance. Into the kitchen the blond went, she wanted some water. When Mrs. Kaze saw her, she gasped with delight. The mother was saying how Marie would be flaunting around her beautiful daughter if she saw her now. She was going on and on about their school dances, and the boys they went with.

_DING DONG _went the doorbell.

"Here I'll get it." Mrs. Kaze went to get it while Namine grabbed a glass of water. Kairi's mother was pretty nice, Namine thought. Then the blond heard some laughter and decided to check it out-- It was Sora, Roxas, Axel, Riku, and Demyx. Namine's head returned to her glass of water, with her cheeks a little red. She could hear Mrs. Kaze talking about how cute she looked to the guys. Then she heard Kairi call her, so Kairi's mother herded them into the living room while she hurried by to get upstairs. Kairi needed to ask her what kind of accessories she should wear. So, Namine suggests black bangles and a gold necklace. Kairi liked that so that's what she went with. Kairi's shoes were flats that were black with a ribbon lacing up to just under her knees. Around the rim was yellow stitching. They match her ensemble perfectly. It took a minute, but Namine finally noticed her friend's hair. It was all crimpy and wavy, it looked amazing with everything else.

"Jeeze Kairi, you are really good at things like this." The blond stated in amazement.

"Heh, Thanks." She was checking herself in a mirror, "Do you think I'll win?" She asked a little nervous.

"Of course, I mean, you are really popular. I have no idea who this Ashe person is, but I'm 100% sure that you are ten times better than her!" Said Namine, comforting her friend.

"Thanks Nami. We should probably get downstairs." She said, not knowing that a group of male teens had entered her house. She began to head downstairs, while Namine behind her.

"What?!" The redhead shouted as she noticed the group of young men in her living room with her mother, all dressed in formal tuxes. All of them turned around to spot the duo of beautiful girls standing before them. Roxas, Sora, Riku, and even Demyx all blushed, but Riku and Demyx only blushed slightly, while the other two blushed profusely. Both girls giggled at the awestruck teens. Axel joined in on the laughter. Kairi's mother disappeared but then quickly reappeared with a camera in hand.

"Everyone!~ Get together, I want to keep this moment!" She put her hand to her face as she said that, most likely thinking back on old times. The group scrunched together and a few photos were taken. Soon enough they were on their way to the Spring Formal.

Sora would be taking Riku and the girls, while Roxas was stuck with Axel and Demyx. Again. The blond teen knew that Namine wanted to hang out with Kairi, but he was still a little sadden. Axel wouldn't stop making cracks about Roxas's red face the whole way there, at least it was better than listening to three fighting over the radio. But only a little.

When the small group got there and entered, they met up with all the others and formed their mega-giant group. (TOGETHER THEY ARE CAPTAAAAAAAAAAI-- oh wait, nevermind.) About half an hour in, their Principal, Mr. DiZ, was explaining that King and Queen would been announced at nine thirty. That was two hours from now. For now, the group just went all over the place. Kairi, Selphie, and Rikku kept finding random people from their group and would drag them onto the dance floor.

"Mr. Knight, not that close!" glared a teacher at Onio and Terra. Teachers were all around, freaking out over the PDA. It was funny to watch them be like frantic little ants.

Kairi came back from her dance with Demyx and yanked Roxas to the dance floor. The two began to dance a little then Kairi brought up something Roxas didn't want to hear.

"So why don't you ask her to dance?" She asked, meaning Namine.

"What are you talking about, Kairi?" He pretended not to know.

"You know who I'm talking about. Namine." She continued.

"Whatever." He sighed.

"I know you like her, so just ask her how she feels about you. I know for a fact that its more than friendship." She left out the part about Namine not really knowing what that feel was. Thanks Kairi.

"W-wha?" Was all that could leave his mouth. That was a total shocker. The blond's face went a dark red as kairi laughed.

"Well, the song is over. Later Roxy!~" Kairi wondered off to find her next dancing victim.

"Kairi...! Ugh, you jerk!" He shouted as he went back to the table that held majority of his friends. He decided it would be best to pretend that conversation never happened. When he sat back down, he took a seat next to the blond they were just talking about.

"Hey Nami... I've been wondering for a while now." He looked at her. She jumped a little when he called her name. "How come you father let you come?" He quickly put his hand behind his head and began scratching a bit nervously, "Not that it's bad or anything, it's just a little surprising that he let you come."

Namine sighed a little bit, she actually just realized her father's odd behavior, "He did... And he suddenly made you my bodyguard out of no where... He's been a little nicer... In a way." She looked down in her lap, giving off signs of worry.

"You look really great in that dress Nami." He said, trying to make her feel better. He didn't even realize that every at the table besides the two had left. She blushed, a lot. Words wouldn't escape her mouth. A song soon began to play, the same one that Roxas was singing to in his car.

"Hey, wanna dance Namine?" He questioned as he stood, extending a hand to her. She look up to see her friend.

"Uhm..." She looked back down for a second, "I-I guess." She took the hand and he led her to the dance floor. The song was a slow song, but still something that was really popular.

While the two were dancing, Namine finally noticed the tux that her companion was wearing. It was a simple black one, with a checkered tie, Namine definately thought that it suited him. Eventually the teachers just game up trying to stop the PDA, students were going to do it and there wasn't anything that could stop them. Somehow, the two blonds dancing ended up very close. Quietly, Namine could here Roxas humming along to the song, which eventually turned into quietly singing. Namine rested her face on the other teen's chest, listening to his calming voice. Something about it... Made her feel very relaxed, as if floating on clouds or soaring through the sky.

When the song ended, after what felt like an eternity, Namine was still resting on his chest.

"Namine..." He whispered into her ear which made her finally lift her head off his warm chest. She thought she heard something besides the singing during the dance, it was sort of loud, and a little fast, but she didn't realize what it was. The beautiful blond looked up at the other blond with the messy hair. Her azure eyes met with his, both of their faces grew a pick-ish red. "I think..." His face was growing slightly redder with every word, "...L-lo--" The next song began to play and it was loud. Very loud. "What did you say Roxas?" She asked, unable to here what he said.

"N-nothing." His chance was ruined by a stupid song. His cheeks slowly returned to their normal color as he led her back to the table, feeling embarrassed for even trying what he did.

"Thank you for the dance Roxas, it was fun." She smiled and sat in her chair. Before the blond boy was able to return to his, a certain red head grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the refreshment table.

"So how'd it go?" The girl in the yellow dress asked Roxas as they headed for the punch area. She saw on his face that something happened., "Spill!"

"Nothing happened, just a simple dance... is all." He frowned as he took a cup and poured some punch.

"I bet you tried something~" Kairi giggled, also getting some punch now.

"N-no!" His face went very bright red, "Ugh, Kairi why are you even like this. Go dance with Sora or something!" He commanded.

"I'm only like this because the two of you are my very precious friends, who just happen to like each other. And Sora and Riku both disappeared somewhere, I can't find them." She frowned as she took a sip of the fruit punch.

"I think she thinks of me more as a protector, if anything," Roxas stared off in his cup, trying to see something that wasn't there, "Won't the winners be announced soon?" He asked as he felt like his internal clock was saying it was almost nine thirty.

"That's what you think." Kairi glanced over at the clock on the wall near them, Roxas was right, "Well, I think I'll dance with Nami for a few songs or something. If you find Sora, punch him for me!" She looked a little sad about mentioning Sora, probably because she still hadn't danced with him at all tonight. Anyways, she headed off in the direction of the table to abduct her female blond friend.

Namine had been quietly sitting at the table with Axel, Selphie, Tidus and Yuna. She really hadn't been dancing much that night, not that she minded because she was really only good at dances like waltz and ballroom, plus a little ballet. The small group was having a conversation on what they planned to do in the future, but Namine mainly stayed out of it considering she would probably become a trophy wife or something that would require to do anything. Axel, noticing Namine's discomfort, decided to do something about it.

"Hey Blanc Minne!~" When she heard the name she frowned. She didn't say anything, just looked over at the messy-dressed redhead with a questioning face.

"I hope that you're having a good time. Who knows when things like this will end." Something about the way he said that made Namine feel even more uneasy about something. Luckily, her savior had come to snatch her away from the situation. Unfortunately, her savior then abducted her onto the dance floor where she proceed to dance. The redhead was rocking out, while Namine didn't really understand how dance to the kind of music playing. Then began questions.

"So you still not know what kind of feelings you have for Roxas?" Kairi asked, like 5 seconds into the two dancing.

"W-wha?" Namine felt like she just got hit in the face with a ball from nowhere, "What makes you ask that?"

"Because of your dancing together."

"So... That mean I like him now? You were dancing with everyone so does that mean your feelings for them changed?" Heh, way to go Namine, leaving Kairi dumbfounded like that. The redhead was trying to think of some sort of reply to that, but Namine got her.

"Er... I don't count. And the question still stands!" She commanded. Namine looked off towards Roxas for a moment, to really contemplate her feelings.

"Well I don't know. I do enjoy spending time together, but..." Before Namine could finish her sentence, Mr. DiZ was back on stage, announcing his entrance to the school. Kairi's face lit up as she listen to him speak.

"Students, I shall now announce the King and Queen!" What happened to the time? It was already nine-thirty. Anyways, there was a loud drum roll.

"Queen's position goes to..." He added in a dramatic pause, "Kairi Kaze!" Kairi looked like she just had a heart attack, it was almost like winning prom, except less special. She dashed up to the stage as fast as she could so she could receive her gold crown. She couldn't help but chuckle when she saw the look on Ashe's face as she passed by.

"Congratulations, Congratulations!" boomed Mr. DiZ again. The cheers wouldn't stop so he began to get annoyed. "That's enough!" He spoke loudly into the mic. The teens were silenced in seconds.

"And King shall be..." Again a dramatic pause, but this one was longer, a few students actually started to yell at him for it. "Riku Sayamura!" There were lots of claps and cheers and other forms of excitement, except the King was missing. "Riku Sayamura?" Mr. DiZ looked around, trying to spot the silver haired teen, along with everyone else.

"Has anyone seen Riku Sayamura? Anyone?" Mr. DiZ questioned again, looking off at people who he knew were his friends. Kairi was screaming in her head _'When I get my hands on that idiot!'_, he was ruining her night with his... Absence. After a while of waiting, Mr. DiZ just decided to take someone as Riku's stand-in for the acceptance and the dance. Fortunately for Kairi, it was someone she knew--Zexion. Why Zexion was chosen though, Kairi would never know. The two winners sighed depressingly while they were dancing. Kairi kept asking him why he was chosen, to which he responded with "I came in second." That made Kairi pretty shocked considering that Zexion hated school events like this. When the winners' (really just Kairi's) dance was done, Mr. DiZ said something about there only being a half hour left and how all students should begin leaving. These were the kinds of things that made Mr. DiZ not well liked by many.

Because Kairi was pretty angry about both Riku and Sora magically 'disappearing', she demanded that Roxas take her home. Since Namine was originally going to get a ride with Sora and he was currently missing, she rode along with Roxas and Kairi. Kairi, being the match-maker-in-training, decided to bring up some stories of the past to lighten her mood.

"Hey Nami, you were the one who met Roxas a long time ago at the park right?" Kairi asked, already knowing the answer.

"I-"

"Hey, how 'bout we listen to some music?" Roxas suggested before Namine could utter another word.

"No, I'm busy asking things. If you don't want to hear us, then pay attention to your driving." Kairi shot back.

"Gah, whatever." The blond teen glared off in the direction of the road he was driving on.

"Anyways, answer Nami." The redhead cheered.

"Uhm... Yeah?" Namine wasn't exactly sure if she should be worried about Kairi's questioning.

"Want to learn something funny about your meeting?" Kairi was going to expose something pretty huge and Roxas knew exactly what it was.

"Oh god, please don't." He slightly begged, pulling up to Kairi's driveway.

"Nope. Anyways, Nami. Everyday he would return to the park for an hour, in hopes that he'd meet his first love again!~" She said as she got out of his car. None of tonight was Roxas' fault, she was just angry and wanted him to confess already. She wasn't trying to be mean, the hopeless boy was just way to slow.

"Damn her." Roxas said under his breath. He turned his head around to see Namine's reaction, which was a blur of shock and embarrassment. Majority of it was embarrassment though.

"I... Er.." The boy couldn't think of anything to say so he just did what he could-- turn on the radio and start driving.

In her head, Namine just kept repeating _'That's a lie. Total lie. Although Kairi wouldn't lie... would she? She might... Just to get me and Roxas together or something. Absolutely no way. Love doesn't exist for people like me. Never.'_ If Kairi had thought about her best-female-friend's feelings and personality, then she probably wouldn't have brought it up. Actually, no, she probably still would've.

**xX**

The ride was silent, except for the fairly loud radio so Roxas wouldn't have to say anything. Just before he reached her mansion, he finally mustered up the courage to say something. He turn off the radio and began to speak.

"Uh... Namine. What Kairi said... Is true. I know that it sounds... uh... Totally weird, but something about you made me... I'm not sure exactly..." This talk was somewhat awkward considering that neither of the two could see the others face, but maybe it was better that way, "But I know that I did really want to meet you again. As many times as I could a week I would stop by that park... In hopes to meet you again."

Namine's face was completely red as she sat in the back seat, feeling a little uncertain. When Roxas reached her gates and she began to get out he said something that was completely unexpected, at least in Namine's mind.

"Namine, I think I love you..." Namine got out of the car as fast as she could, not looking back. Somewhere in her mind she was just wishing for this to all be some weird, awkward dream that she couldn't wake up to. Embarrassed teen one went inside her mansion pretty quick while the embarrassed teen two drove away calling himself stupid the whole way home.

When Namine entered her house, she went to her room, changed, then went to sleep on her bed, pretending nothing just happened. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't going to be waking up in her house tomorrow. She wouldn't be in Twilight Town either for that matter. Someone decided it'd be best for her to be in some strange house, in some strange town, all alone.

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**Please review!**


	17. Welcome To

**Welcome To  
**

**Got this one out fast, yay.**

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"...Huh? W-where am I...?" Was all that escaped the blond's mouth when she woke up to this unfamiliar place. She got up from the bed that she was placed on and went to the window. Everything outside looked... different. Nothing was familiar at all. One thing that had really stood out to Namine was a large building that looked like an old castle. The city almost looked like parts were sectioned off. Namine retreated to a door that looked like it might lead somewhere. She tried to open it but it wouldn't budge, so she began slamming on the door with her fists.

"Hey! Is someone there?! Let me out!" She called to the imaginary person she thought was on the other side of the door. No one would answer, so she just continued to pound until someone would.

"M-miss! Please don't do that!" Called the voice.

"Let me out!" She yelled, still slamming on the door. Something about that voice sounded very familiar to Namine in this unfamiliar place.

"If I let you out for a bit, do you promise to settle down, Miss Blanc?" Replied to voice.

"...Fine..." Then the realization hit her, this person knew who she was, "Hey... How do you know me?" Namine heard the sound of keys clanking together, then the click sound of the door opening.

"Perhaps its best that I don't tell you." He said as he opened the door.

"R-Roxas?!" The blond's eyes widened and she almost hugged him but he stopped her.

"Whose Roxas? I'm Ven, now will you calm down?" As he kept pushing her away until she finally stopped.

"Ven..." She looked a little disheartened, like her one salvation of being here had just vanished and she was completely alone in this place. "So... Ven, where am I?" She asked. He grabbed her very gentleman like and led her down the hall.

"Welcome to Radiant Garden." He said, showing her the view out one of the large windows they passed.

"And why am I here..?" She asked, trying to get answers.

"To learn. And to be with your fiancee." If Namine was drinking something just then, she would've choked at the last statement.

"F-f-f-fiancee?! Wha?! He...! He...!" Namine couldn't believe what she was hearing right now.

"He found you one?" Said Ven, finishing her sentence.

"Who... Who is it?" She questioned.

"Ah.... Sorry, it'd be me." He said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, in the same fashion as Roxas.

**xX**

"Axel...! I know you know something, dammit! Now tell me! Where the hell is Namine?! She's been gone for almost a week already!" Questioned the infuriated blond with a brunette and a redhead behind him.

"Hey...! Buddy! You need to calm down! We're best friends, c'mon, don't be like this!" Said the cornered redhead frantically.

"Then tell me where the hell she went!" He demanding, ready to lunge at his best friend.

"Dude, do you really cherish her that much?"

"I.... I do!" He replied, a little hesitant, which Axel caught.

"No, you don't. You hesitated." The cornered mouse squeaked.

"Just because he hesitated, doesn't mean his feelings aren't true!" Kairi barked. She knew this statement to be very true, at least in her case.

"Axel, just tell us what you know!" Begged Sora, not really wanting to solve this with violence.

"I'd...." Axel struck some weird pose, "rather pass!" Then he somehow disappeared. Stupid Org XIII and their secret escape ways that Roxas didn't know about. (Demyx was in hiding too, in fear for his safety.)

Roxas uttered a few foul words under his breath then fell to the ground.

"I... promised I'd protect her... How can I?" It looked like he was refusing to let himself cry, as much as he wanted to.

"Roxas..." Kairi kneeled down next to her friend and tried to comfort him. For a split second, Sora didn't know what he should do-- until it hit him. Roxas received a _Thwack! _to the back of the head, which he yelped at. Kairi yelled at Sora until he explain his reasoning for it.

"Roxas, what are you doing!? Do you really think sitting here feeling sorry for yourself you're going to find her faster?" He questioned sounding very angry with his friend.

"But there--"

"If you can't find any leads, then look harder. Stop being such an idiot, that's my job." He stopped realizing what he said, "I.. Er! I'm not an idiot. Gah... Nevermind..." His heroic sounding moment was ruined by his... confession of idiocy? Kairi couldn't help but feel proud of her best friend for such a speech. Roxas felt better too. Kairi stood back up while Sora extended a hand to his close friend.

"If you need any help, remember, you've got everyone on your side. We'll help." He said with a nod to himself. The redhead nodded also, giving a victory sign and winking too.

"I wanna find her just as bad as you Roxy! Remember that! We all care deeply for her." Kairi rushed up ahead of the boys then turned around to wave for them to hurry up.

"Yeah.." Roxas said to himself with a nod as Sora had already caught up to girl ahead. "I swear... I'll find you Nami..." Then he rushed to catch up to the two in front of him.

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**The end of this chapter felt a little... ****cliché? Ah well. This chapter didn't feel like it needed to be long, besides that, I enjoyed writting it. Fun chapter~ Fun chapter~**

**Anyways, Please review!**


	18. The Golden Sky and the Sunken Moon

**The Golden Sky and the Sunken Moon**

**I was on a roll for ideas so another chapter is out. Pleas enjoy!**

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After a few escape attempts, Namine realized that there was no getting out of this place. She was stuck. And to make matters worse, she had a fiancee. Who looked exactly like Roxas. Greaaaaaat.

"So... Namine, want to meet my friends?" Ven asked as the two were quietly sitting together in one of the blue crystal parks in Radiant Garden. The air between the two was very... heavy.

"Sure..." With each passing day, Namine was becoming more and more depressed, very much like her life before her friends.

"Alright! They're great people. Let's see... There's Terra... Aqua..." He said, counting off his friends. "I think you'd get along with Aqua pretty well."

"Yeah..." The blond girl wasn't even playing attention to what her fiancee was saying. She wasn't trying to get along with him, it was too weird. Namine was going to be married to some guy who looked exactly like her friend who she just found out likes her.

"Er... What's wrong?" At least Ven was trying to work things out. Namine mumbled something not even herself could hear then sighed.

"Twilight Town...?" Ven questioned. Namine just silently nodded, looking at her sandals on the blue pavement.

"You know... I think your father said something about you only staying here for a year to learn more... businessy stuff?" He put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. "When the years over, both of us are going back." He had a very warming grin, a lot like Roxas'. That made Namine feel even worse, and she didn't quiet understand why.

"So... Just a year? Then we go back?" As much as the smile warmed her and hurt her, she couldn't help but feel happy over the fact that she could see her friends again in a year.

"Yup." Ven said, looking off at the castle. "Hm... Wanna go meet them now?" He asked, standing now.

"Why not?" Namine forced a smile as she hopped off the bench to follow Ven's lead. Namine could swear that Ven and Roxas were twins, but of course she knew they weren't.

On their way back to the dorms (Where Namine had woken up), Ven was talking about the companies his family owned. Apparently they were a pretty big competitor to her father's companies. When the two got to the private school grounds (Which is where Namine is current now attending for the rest of the year.), Ven immediately spotted Aqua and Terra and called to them. At first glance, Aqua looked a little plain, but after taking a second look, Namine realize how beautiful this blue haired teen was. Terra... didn't exactly frighten Namine, he just seemed a little odd. The way he acted reminded her a lot of Sora. Same with Aqua, she thought that she acted a lot like Kairi, except not so... hyper or easily worked up about things. Mainly a very caring personality and wanting to have fun.

The group of four chatted in the grassy areas of the campus for almost three hours, until Ven said that he had to take Namine to get her new uniform. When she got it, She couldn't believe how fancy it was. _'Jeese, this really is some high class school.'_ She thought to herself as she walked back to her dorm with her blond haired fiancee right beside her. The girl still felt very uncomfortable about the whole thing, but Ven said that she would most likely get use to it.

When they got to her door, he kissed her on the forehead before parting ways. Of course she blushed, but not because it was Ven, but because she thought of him as Roxas when he did it. After she realized what she thought, she couldn't help but get angry with herself. _'I'm going to marry Ven. Roxas has nothing to do with this. Besides, I never liked him like that... It was all him... Right_?' She thought as she set her uniform on her dresser and changed into her pajamas. It was almost five o'clock but Namine was very tired. She also had a lot running through her mind right now and had no one to talk to.

**xX**

Roxas wouldn't stop looking for clues as to Namine's whereabouts. Considering everyone in the Org. had abandoned him and his quest for her made things almost twice as hard. Luckily, the rich kids (Zack, Cloud, Tidus, etc.) were willing to help him find her in any way possible. Soon enough, he began skipping classes, not eating much, stay out very late trying to find even a shred of evidence as to where Namine was. The blond teen spent the rest of his Sophomore year dedicated to find Namine. Many times he thought that he was very close, only to have that solution slip through his fingers. Everyone began to worry about his dwindling health. Sora even tried to force him not to look for only a few days, which got him beaten up. No one could believe he was that desperate to find the missing bird. If he had known that she was pretty much trying to forget him, he probably would've gone insane. The poor teen's life was getting thrown upside down for a girl that he couldn't find. He was actually starting to forget her voice, something that he couldn't stand.

Kairi was still searching for any leads too, even her mother was helping out. She couldn't bare the thought of history repeating itself and not being able to help. Although Kairi was also looking, she wasn't anywhere close to how hard Roxas was looking, and she was searching pretty hard. Whenever she'd spot Zexion or Demyx, she'd threaten the hell out of them, knowing that the two knew something about Namine's disappearance. Even though Kairi had won the Queen status, it didn't effect Org XIII, nothing did.

By the time the school year had ended, Roxas was a mess, Kairi's grades dropped from A's to B's, Demyx and Axel became very hated by Roxas, Cloud, Tifa, Zack, Aerith, Marluxia, Lexaeus, Wakka, and Lulu all graduated. Both Zack and Cloud are taking over their family businesses. Aerith is engaged to Zack, and Tifa and Cloud are going out. Pence learned to play the keyboard finally. Hayner actually won one of the tourneys, but mainly because not many people entered. Plus, he had finally asked out Olette, who said yes. Terra and Onio ditched the group, not that it was planned, they just had a lot of other friends. Zidane and Garnet also pretty much left, but really because their lives got busy with the family companies. Other than that, not much changed. Except one more thing, Sora met the one they call Superior, but he still won't talk much about what happened.

Over the short summer, Roxas finally got a few clues out of Axel, but they weren't very helpful. Also, Sora had asked out Kairi again, who said yes this time. Roxas couldn't help but feel happy for them but miserable at the same time. A lot of people said that 'It was about damn time.' which was actually pretty funny. Unfortunately because of the redhead looking for Namine a lot, the two didn't get to go on many dates or anything. Sora didn't mind that much, he was just happy knowing that Kairi loved him.

xX

During Namine's school year, she actually had a very easy time making friends at this school, unlike her other one where she was harassed and teased for her status. The blond really enjoyed it here, except for one thing--Ven. Everything he did reminded her of Roxas. Forgetting him was like trying to break a diamond with a plastic knife, Impossible. She didn't realize how much he helped her out, and how much he cared for her. Namine still wasn't sure what her feelings for him were, but she knew for a fact that they were above friendship. Even if she had a fiancee now, she still felt the need to tell Roxas her feelings as soon as she returned.

Luckily for Namine, because she was doing so well in all of her classes, she was going to be allowed back to Twilight Town before her Junior year started, so she wouldn't start late back at Twilight High. Ven had seemed pretty excited about meeting all her friend, something that was haunting Namine in the back of her mind. She had slowly come to not dislike Ven, but she didn't really like him either. It was like being with a rich imitation of Roxas. Maybe if she had met Ven first, she would've loved him, but she knew that because he was so similar to someone that she wasn't sure of her feelings for, she couldn't be able to love him.

During mid-summer, the two we're finally permitted to leave back for Twilight Town. Ven could see the excitement emitting from Namine. He thought she looked cute, like a bird getting let out for the first time. Her little squeals of joy were like chirping to him, and he enjoyed just watching her like that.

The two packed all their stuff and said their good-byes, in preparation for the three hour train ride ahead of them.

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**What will happen in Twilight Town?! Find out next time!**

**I wanted to stuff the year (not really, only like 6 months because she left in late February and school for them starts in September. But she's getting back in around mid-August.) into one chapter considering that most of it was summer (Her school got out during mid-July while Twilight High got out at the end of June. Yeah weird schedules. lol) **

**Also, it was going to be a full year, but because I didn't really want to have her come back when the school year would be almost over, I decided that she could leave because of good behavior. Yeah, it totally makes sense. **

**And about the title; In a way I thought of like how the two are acting around people. Namine has become more open, being around people who are like her therefor being like a 'golden sky' while Roxas is getting so disparate that his health is deteriorating therefor the 'sunken moon'. Weird but meh, it sounds neat to me. haha  
**

**Please review!**


	19. Hello Namine

**...Hello Namine  
**

**Another chapter out, currently I'm on a roll with this story :D**

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Something about the last few days for Namine made her exhausted, because as soon as the two were on the train and seated, she was out. On Ven's lap. Of course, he didn't mind that much, he had actually been growing fond of her over the course of the short time they'd been together.

Because Namine was asleep the entire time, she was shocked at how 'fast' they got to Twilight Town. When they arrived at the station, Ven, being the gentleman that he is, woke Namine up, then carried majority of their stuff to the car that was waiting for them outside. The car was just a 'simple' royal blue limo. The blond boy let Namine in first, then entered as well. He then gave the driver directions to the Minne Mansion, which he really didn't need to, considering that Minne was known all throughout Twilight Town and that the Mansion was just as famous as the name. The driver gave the couple a thumbs up and drove them off towards the mansion. Namine couldn't help but chuckle to herself seeing how excited Rox-- er Ven was. The male teen kept telling his companion about how much he's wanted to visit Twilight Town. Which gave Namine an idea.

"Hey Ven, Have you ever tried Sea Salt Ice Cream?" She questioned, wondering if the teen had the same tastes as well as looks.

"Nope. What's that?" He asked, showing signs of curiosity. Namine turned her attention to the driver and whispered him directions.

"You'll just have to try it." Namine replied with a smile.

It didn't take long to get the the ice cream shoppe, although when they arrived, Namine felt a little out of place considering she hadn't been there in a long while. Some things looked completely different to her, like her memory was playing tricks. Anyways, she pulled Ven to a table and sat down. When a waiter came, the girl immediately ordered two of the salty treats, in bar form. The man was back in an instant, with ice creams in hand. Namine began sucking on the delicious treat in the late afternoon while Ven looked at it questionably. He couldn't tell anything by looking at it, so it went in for a small lick. Namine was eyeing him for his reaction, almost hoping it would be the same as Roxas'. _'Wait wait wait. What am I thinking?!' _she thought as she watched.

"Blech!" He shouted with a sour face as he dropped the ice cream on his lap, which he then flung to the Grey stone pavement. The odd sense of hope that Namine had had disappeared when she saw his reaction. Then she questioned herself again about this 'hope' that she had.

"It's way to salty!" He exclaimed, in between gulps he took from the water the waiter left for the two.

"Really?" The blond girl questioned as she took a bite into the bar. "I guess its an acquired taste." Namine looked off towards the fountain in the distance. Then she did a double take. She saw a redheaded girl, who looked an awful lot like Kairi, holding hands with a brunette boy, that looked an awful lot like Sora, heading off towards some store. Namine was praying that the small chance that they did spot her, they wouldn't. Her prayers were answered as the redhead, again most likely Kairi, pulled on the boy, most likely Sora, and dragged him into some frilly store. _'So... are they finally like that..?' _she asked in her head, knowing no one would answer.

When she though she saw them coming out, she took the last few bites on her ice cream, set down some money, grabbed Ven by the wrist and led him to the car. He thought her behavior was odd so he finally asked,

"Did you see someone you knew?" Immediately her cheeks went red.

"N-no!...O-o-o-of c-course n-n-not!" She answered, not looking at her fiancee.

"Sure." He replied, rolling his eyes a little. He figured that she'd introduce him whenever she felt like it so he wasn't going to be persistent. The rest of the ride was silent though mainly because Namine's timid and non-confrontational personality appeared and she didn't want to answer anything that Ven wanted to ask. When they arrived at the mansion, servants piled out of its doors to greet Namine and to take the couple's things. Ven laced his fingers through Namine's as the two walked in. Standing on the second floor right before the grand staircase was Namine's father, Mr. Minne. Slowly he walked down the stairs, greeting the two with a very stern look. The blond girl tightened her grip on her fiancee's hand, he could tell she was anxious.

After conversing for a few minutes, Mr. Minne dismissed Namine and continued to talk to Ven in his study. She went straight to her room, to see the things she had missed so much in her time of absense. When she entered, she couldn't help but feel a rush of emotions run through her; so many memories in this room, so many things recorded in her pictures. She crossed the room to her special table to see her phone, iPod, Kairi's copy of Alice in Wonderland plus a lot of her paints and colored pencils. Her fingers traced the basic shape of her phone before finally picking it up. She hadn't had contact with anyone since her 'disappearance'. Actually, moments ago when she spoke with her father, was the first time since she left.

Something about her phone gave her a chill. Then thoughts of her friends infiltrated her mind. Namine paused on her phone when she saw Roxas' name, hesitating on what she should do. On impulse, she clicked through her friends to find a certain someone and send them a text. The next thing she knew, she was out of her mansion and running towards the hole in the back of her wall.

**xX**

"Hold on a minute Sora, I got a text from someone." The redhead said as her boyfriend was trying to cuddle up to her. When she read the name, her eyes widened and her face was that of a ghost. Sora noticed this and looked over at his love's phone.

_Meet me at Destiny Gardens as soon as you can -Namine_

Sora couldn't help but give the same reaction. It was like after being missing for so long, she appeared like a ghost. After the shock settled down, Kairi flipped through her numbers to find a certain blond boy's name and sent him a forward of the text she had just received. Then she grabbed her purple converse, put them on, and began leaving.

"Sorry Sora.... but you know how important this is to me!" She called as the door shut.

"It's okay." He said to himself in his now lonely house.

**xX**

When Roxas got the text from Kairi, he nearly had a heart attack. He didn't want to waste any time so he threw on some shoes then grabbed his skateboard; he may have had a car but he used his skateboard much more. He thought it was quicker. Down the streets he went, heading for Destiny Gardens. If that text wasn't a lie, he could finally see _her_ again.

**xX**

Namine was out of breath when she got there, she had ran the whole way. Her yellow sundress looked all dirty towards the bottom from the dirt she had run through. The bench that had always comforted her was empty so she sat there, waiting for her redheaded friend. Unknowing to her, she had a second friend coming as well.

It took Kairi almost twenty minutes to get there by foot, since Sora's house was farther away. When she arrive, she saw her missing friend and almost broke down in tears at she ran at her.

"Nami..." She said as tears rolled down her tan cheeks.

"Hi Kairi." Namine replied, looking up at her friend standing before her, smiling. Kairi wasn't sure if she was real, so she pinched her friend.

"You're.... You're really here!" She sobbed as she sat next her the blond, then latching on to her arm.

"Yeah." Namine couldn't help but feel tears start to well up in her eyes as well.

"We've looked for you... everywhere. Where'd you go?" Kairi was so happy that her friend was back and she needed to know answers. Mainly because, in a way, Kairi felt like it was her fault for constantly nagging and nudging Roxas and Namine to be together.

"I've been.... In Radiant Garden." Namine replied, not looking at Kairi who had stopped crying.

"You've been in Radiant Garden? Why didn't you contact anyone?" Questioned the redhead again.

"I had no way too. No one would let me use any phone. And my bank account had been frozen so I couldn't do anything."

"W-Why did you go?"

"My father. He.... He put me there so I could be with--"

"NAMINE!" The girls heard Roxas shout as he ran at her with his skateboard in hand. Namine couldn't help but flinch when she heard her name. Then she looked up, thinking Ven had realized she was missing and went looking for her, but to her surprise, it was Roxas.

"R-Roxas..!" She said and he dropped his skateboard and hugged her, making sure this was really her. The girl couldn't help but blush. Namine realized that she couldn't have him hug her so she finally pushed him away only after a minute. He looked a little disheartened but the realized how they parted ways. Namine sat back down on the bench next to Kairi who latched on to her arm once again. She stared off at the boy before her, something about him was different. 'He looks... thinner. And... very tired.' She couldn't help but feel like crying at looking at the poor shape he was in.

"Roxas... he's been looking for you everyday since you've been gone." Kairi answered to Namine's stares.

"..." Namine couldn't say anything.

"We've really missed you." Roxas stated, now sitting in the grass next to Namine on the bench. She thought she saw something that looked like a tear in his eye.

"I've missed you too."

"Namine, so why were you in Radiant Garden?" Kairi asked again for the answer.

"Wait-- you were in Radiant Garden?"

"Yeah she was, so Nami, tell me again. I couldn't hear the last part because of a certain someone."

"Hey! You sent me that text!" Roxas shot back.

"Whatever. Anyways, Nami."

"Uhm..." Now that Roxas was here, she was scared to answer. "I have... a fiancee now..." Both her friend's eyes widened as they listened.

"A.... fiance?!" Kairi was completely blown away. Roxas, on the other hand, was sitting there, looking almost a little emotionless.

"Roxas...?" The blond asked the other blond.

"H-huh? Uh... congratulation Nami..." He said as he got up, grabbed his skateboard, and began walking away.

"Hey-- Roxas! Where are you going?!" Kairi yelled.

"I'm a little tired. Lots of information. How 'bout we just have a better explanation tomorrow? Lots of shock today..." His voice sounded a little shaky and it kept trailing off as he left.

"Roxas..." Namine looked like she was about to cry, she knew the news would make him act like that but she still said it anyways.

"So... What about Roxas..?" Kairi was worried.

"I... know now that I do really care for him. Above friendship, but I'm not fully sure as to what." The blond began to fiddle with her fingers.

"I'm sure that he'd like to hear that." Said Kairi, trying to comfort the blond girl. It was silent for almost five minutes.

"Is your fiancee nice?" Kairi finally asked.

"Yes..."

"Is he cool, a gentleman?"

"Yes..."

"What's his hair color?"

"Blond."

"Eyes?"

"Blue."

"Hairstyle?"

"Messy."

"Jeeze, he sounds a lot like Roxas, by the looks."

"He looks exactly like Roxas." Then Kairi's eyes widened.

"W-what?! He does?! What's his name?!"

"Ven..."

"That's... really weird, Nami."

"Yeah I know. But I didn't choose him, my dad did."

"That's... Maybe because he thought you liked Roxas?"

"How would that even work?"

"Since Ven is rich and Roxas well.. Isn't? Maybe he thought you liked Roxas based on looks or something."

"But--"

"You seem like you do now, with your explanation and stuff." Namine put her hand on her forehead, thinking of a way to deny it.

"No...."

"I think you do." Only after being reunited a short time ago, Kairi was already back to her usual, persistent self.

"Kairi, can we stop please? I already have a lot to deal with right now." Namine sighed.

"Fine. But I am expecting you to tell Roxas your feelings."

"I plan on it. I know that after..." The blond's face went red "....that.... I feel like... I should tell him how I feel about him."

"That?" Kairi questioned.

"He didn't tell you?!" Namine was shocked.

"Tell me what?!"

"He confessed to me.... After the dance." Her white face was as red as Axel's hair. The redheaded girl giggled, she ended forcing him into a corner.

"Hehe... So he did, I was wondering why he was acting so weird on that Monday." Kairi finally let go of Namine arm, feeling that she wouldn't leave.

"Er... yeah..."

It was silent between the two girls for a few moments.

"So are you and Sora together now?" The blond finally brought up. This time Kairi's face went red.

"H-how'd y-you know?!"

"I thought I saw you two together today at the shopping plaza."

"You did?!"

"Yup, me and Ven got some Sea Salt Ice Cream...." He voice went quiet as she finished the sentence.

"Did he like it?"

"Nope, he threw it to the pavement." She said with a laugh, then Kairi joined in.

"Wow. At least that's different." Kairi said, still laughing.

"And he can't sing. He also can't play any instrument." She was laughing still as well but then felt bad for comparing the two similar boys.

"Have you kissed him yet?"

"Kairi!" Namine's face went red again, "...No. How'd we get back to me, we were on you!"

"Ah, sorry, sorry!"

The two girls then spent about twenty minutes just talking about Kairi and Sora. Plus some other things about everyone else.

"Oh, and a new girl came to school! Her name was... Xion."

"Xion...? Is she nice?" Questioned Namine.

"Yeah, although sometimes she's a little moody. She looked like you almost. But with really short black hair."

"Are you guys friends?"

"Yeah, but she clings to Roxas waaaaaay too much. It's sickening. She also has been clingy with Riku. But she's been pretty friendly with Org XIII. Oh hey, two of the Org members graduated."

"Really? Oh how has everyone in Org XIII been?"

"I dunno. We really stopped talking to Axel, Demyx, and Zexion when they refused to give us any information on you."

"They knew...? What about Roxas?"

"Roxas was kept out of the loop."

"I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault, more like your dad's. I haven't even met him and I really hate him!" Kairi huffed.

"B-but.."

"Don't worry."

"Okay..."

For another twenty minutes, the duo switched over to Namine's life while she was in Radiant Garden. She was telling Kairi about all the people she met; the snobby ones, the nice ones, the really mean ones, etc. The blond told her friend of Aqua and Terra, who acted similar to those she knew in Twilight Town. She also showed Kairi the 'proper' ediquiette that she had to learn. She also said how she wasn't allowed to draw much, instead she was forced to learn the violin and piano. Since she already knew how to play both a little, she improved very fast. Kairi told her that she should have a private concert for all her friends. When the talking was dying down, Kairi suggested the two play on the swings.

The two swung until it was almost six 'o clock pm and Namine said that she needed to get back before people worried.

"You know, Nami, you have become a lot more.... Open? Actually I'm not sure how to word that. But you seem like you're having an easier time talking to others."

"Is that a good thing?" The blond questioned with a laugh.

"Yup, It feels like you want to be more connected with people." She gave her friend a smile.

"Kairi, I'm really happy I'm back."

"I'm happy you're back too. Have a safe trip home Nami." She waved as Namine began to walk off in the direction of her mansion, waving.

**xX**

When Namine returned home, no one seemed to really mind. She didn't really care so she went to the kitchen to visit Zeke and get some cookies (That he got from his mother for her return home.) then retreated to her room. Today had been very refreshing to Namine, so she decided to paint. The main idea for the image in her mind was that of a beautiful sunny morning on a beach. When she did all she wanted for the day, she set the painting next to her bird cage then changed and hopped in bed. Before she went to sleep, she realized _'Where was Ven suppose to sleep?' _but there were plenty of rooms all around the mansion so he could easily have one of those. The next day, Namine was going to meet with the entire gang to explain and to finally see them all again.

* * *

**Whee another chapter! And Xion is finally introduced! Hurray! Please review! :D**


	20. Summers Almost Over

**Summers Almost Over**

The rest of summer passed quickly. Namine had to repeatedly explain why she all of a sudden disappeared to Radiant Garden but besides that, she mainly hung out with all her friends until the last days. Ven was often busy with Mr. Minne, so no one knew who he was. In a way, Namine was really happy for this, because she really didn't want Roxas and Ven to meet. On the days that Ven didn't have to work with her father, she would exclusively be with him, even though he constantly asked when he'd meet her friends, to which she would lie and say soon. During the days she was with the others, she would try to get to be alone with Roxas, but he seemed like he was ignoring her.

"Hey Roxas, what's with you?" Sora asked as the two went to buy some ice cream for the others.

"What are you taking about?"

"Namine. You've been completely avoiding her. She's really missed you, and you missed her, so what's with the attitude when she got back?" The brunette gave his friend a concerned look.

"She's got someone, so she doesn't need me. This isn't any of your business anyways, Sora." Replied the blond teen, very irritated.

"Jeeze, calm down, Mr. Angsy." Sora joked as Roxas glared at him, "Hey who is that girl whose been hanging around the Org lately?"

"Something that starts with an X. Its short." Said Roxas as he opened the door to the convenience store and walked in with Sora right behind.

"Do you still not talk to them? And that's a little harsh dude, she sticks to you and you don't even remember her name?"

"Shut up... But nope not really. Me and Axel started talking again, but its really... uncomfortable and a little awkward."

"Yeah I guess." Sora slid open the door of the ice cream freezer and pulled out four ice creams; it was just the two and the girls today. The two boys proceeded to the checkout to buy the frozen treats. They paid then headed back to the girls, being fairly silent except for the occasional question here or there.

Xx

"Ugggggggh! That stupid blond idiot!" Kairi shouted.

"Er... Kairi?" The female blond questioned as she was sketching one of the skateboards leaning against the barred fence. The two were waiting at a skate park with the boys' gear.

"He just makes me so angry." Sighed the red head.

"Why?" Asked the blond, setting down her sketchbook.

"He won't stop avoiding you! It pisses me off!"

"Why are you getting so angry?" Namine was puzzled.

"Because you won't! If something upsets you, show it!" She huffed.

"But..." Namine wasn't sure what to continue with so she stopped, which left a few minutes of silence.

"Hey! How 'bout me and Sora go somewhere? Then you'll be alone with Roxy!" The red head exclaimed. Namine stayed in thought for a moment longer.

"That... actually might work. Although, he might try to leave with you guys." Namine wasn't sounding too sure.

"I'll make sure he won't!" She replied cheerfully again.

"...Make sure who won't do what?" Came a familiar brunette's voice, followed by a sigh from his blond companion.

"Nothing~. So where's the ice cream?" Kairi cheered.

"Right here." Roxas said, lift the bag that contained the treats. Kairi yanked the bag away and pulled out two for her and Namine then tossed the bag to Sora. It had been a hot day, and the four were really looking forward to some ice cream. Roxas, like usual with Sea Salt Ice Cream, ate it in seconds. Namine was happy to see him not looking so unhealthy again, at least in the way that he wasn't eating. Roxas noticed she was watching him scarf his snack through the corner of her eye but pretended not to. During this time of eating, Kairi somehow gave Sora the hint that the two needed to give the others some time to work their issues out.

"Sorry Roxy, Sora and I have to..." Kairi was trying to think of an excuse on the spot, "He promised to take me to this new movie coming out... Its showing's soon so we need to get going! Sorry!!" She gasped, trying to sound as believable as possible.

"Can't we just come too?" Roxas questioned, a little skeptical.

"It's a super chick flick, you probably wouldn't like it." The red head replied, making it sound like it was totally bad.

"It can't be that bad, I've seen some pretty bad chick flicks, and Sora's going to see it with you...?" He asked again, still not really believing it.

"Er..." Sora scratched his head a little. "Y-yeah... I totally love... chick flicks." He lied.

"Really?" One of Roxas' eyebrows arched.

"Nope. Sora just promised to go with me because I promised him I'd cheer for it at the opening season's game. Isn't that right, Sora?" Kairi cocked her head to the side, flashing a toothy smile.

"Y-yeah... And she only agreed to if I saw this movie with her...? Alone...?" He was catching her drift, but Sora wasn't exactly the best lair.

"Exactly, so you keep Namine company for... Oh, about two hours?" She said as she check her cell phone for the time. She then glanced over at Namine who looked a little squirmy and uncomfortable.

"I guess I could..." Grumbled the blond teen. Kairi gave him a thumbs up as Sora went to grab his skating gear, he didn't want to just leave it with the duo of blonds. Soon after the two left and the blonds were alone in the populated park.

After a while of silence, Roxas finally spoke up.

"You wanna wait somewhere else..?"

"No, here's fine, you can skate around or something, I'll just draw." The artist replied.

"Okay I guess." As he reequipped the gear that he removed when he went for ice cream.

Namine flipped to a clean, new page and began to sketch out Roxas doing some sort of trick that she didn't know. It looked like he was still learning it because he fell, but there were a few times he landed it. The artist had an almost photographic memory, so she could remember the part of the trick she was sketching pretty well. After Namine had the basic shape of it, she began to draw his hair that seemed to dance in the air. She enjoyed drawing the different types of choppy spikes, she could just imagine how they felt; soft with maybe few hints of a little hair gel. Once she finished the hair, she realize that he was wearing a helmet and felt her cheeks get a little warm. Namine then drew a light outline of the helmet over the head, and decided she like the spikes by themselves much more so she erased it. Next thing she went onto was the shirt, it was an off white with black grunge effects over the front along with the words "MUSIC RAID" written very scratchily in Grey. It was a fairly complex design, but Namine felt she copied it down pretty well. His pants were simple dark Grey jeans and his shoes were checkered slip-on Vans. That reminded Namine that she needed to add in his checkered wristband, which also reminded her of his gloves, so she add those in. The picture was pretty much done, except the face. For some reason Namine just couldn't get his face, so for now she left it blank.

The artist had been so absorbed in her picture that she didn't realize that her model was standing over her watching her finish the shoes then move on the the hands then attempt the face.

_'She may have a fiancee... but maybe... there is...'_ He thought in his head as he watched her give up on the face.

"What no face?" He joked, even though he had been avoiding her, when he saw what she was currently drawing, he couldn't help but feel happy.

Roxas' standing right there completely scared Namine and she jumped, dropping her sketchbook onto the concrete. Roxas laughed a little more then picked up her book and returned it to her after studying it for a few moments.

"T-thanks." Namine said, looking down, her cheeks once again feeling warm.

"So are you going to finish that?" She could feel his smile directed at her.

"I... Er... Not yet. I can't get the face just right...."

"Need a closer look?" The blond said, moving his face only a few inches away from her. This made Namine jump back and trip on the bench right behind her that she had been sitting on. Luckily, Roxas saved her just before she might've been injured by quickly wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her in.

"Uhm... R-Roxas... I really need to talk to you." She almost whispered, with her hands somewhat pressed against his chest, again not looking at him in the face. He quickly freed her, adverting his gaze to another boy attempting an Ollie.

"Alright, wanna walk?" She nodded in agreement as he picked up his skateboard and the two left the barred skate park, now entering a park. "So, you didn't try before?"

"You were complete avoiding me!" Namine narrowed her eyes on her blue sneakers as she walked. Roxas didn't have a reply to that so it was silent for a few more steps.

"Uh... Anyways..." The girl sighed. More silence. "This is really awkward."

"Huh?" Roxas was a little confused.

"Well..." Namine looked off towards one of the oak trees they passed. "I've been wanting to say this for a while but now I'm having a hard time getting it out..."

"What?" Roxas questioned again, still slightly confused.

"I want to sit down first, how about over there?" She said pointing to a shaded grassy area.

"Okay...?" He replied as the two headed over. Once they sat down, Namine sighed once again.

"When I first got to Radiant Garden, I met Ven. When I met him I was really... Uh... Shocked. Mainly because of the similarities between the two of you. I mean... It was... Wow. Anyways, I really didn't want to be there and at first, I tried to escape at least five times. I was told that if I wanted to go home so badly, then I needed to try as hard as I could to complete the time I was... sentenced to. Luckily I got out on good behavior." She chucked a little. "But being with Ven and his friends everyday made me feel very lonely. When I was with him... Well..."

"Well what?" Roxas was anxious for the answer, feeling like he almost knew it.

"It reminded me of all the times I was with you, Kairi and Sora. Being with him everyday.... made me... uo." By the time she end her sentence, it was inaudioble.

"Repeat that last part?"

"It made me... really miss you..." Namine kept her face down, not letting him look at it and its strawberry color.

"Me? Me?!" His eyes widened. "Me?!?"

"Y-yeah. After... The night I left... I had a long time to think about my feelings."

"And...?" Even though he couldn't see her face he had a feeling that she was blushing, because he was too.

"I know that..."

"Yeah?"

"I like you..."

Roxas sat there, very shocked, but also had a feeling deep down that he already knew a little. Perhaps it was the redhead's doing?

"More that a friend, but I'm not sure exactly what. I mean... I know that I really do like you! But I.... I'm not sure. Ven... What if I left him heartbroken or something? I couldn't do that. I've grown pretty attached to him too. My father hates you... He hates everyone that can't make him money... I... I'm really confused about ev--"

Before Namine could finish her confusing rant, she felt Roxas' lips softly pushing against her's, but in a very forceful way. The artist had a fluttering feeling filling her stomach and knew it was quickly rising. She felt like she'd suffocate if she didn't pull away from the one that was grasping her arms now.

"R-Roxas?!" She gasped for air, a little frightened and still having that fluttering feeling. Before her park companion could reply, somebody familiar came busting in.

"We're gone for less than 30 minutes and you two are already making out? Jesus, Roxas you work fast." Kairi swooned.

"Are you sure it isn't Namine who works fast?" Sora chuckled.

"I thought you two were at a movie...?" The spiky haired blond asked.

"We couldn't leave. You're our ride today, Roxy!~" Kairi said playfully.

"Wow. I seriously forgot that...?"

"Haha, yup." Sora seemed to be enjoying himself right now.

Namine was completely shocked at this point and couldn't speak. This was one of those times that she needed to start laughing but she couldn't. The three around her were her closest friends but she felt like she had just been humiliated by them. Roxas could tell she was very embarrassed as Sora laughed and Kairi giggled so in a flash he stood up, pulled her up by her hand, and the two began running.

"Hey! Where are you going!" Kairi shouted at the escaping blonds.

"I dunno!" The leading blond shouted back as he continued off the direction they were headed in.

"You think they'll be alright?" Sighed the brunette sitting next to his friends' forgotten things.

"Of course. Roxas will definately protect her." Kairi nodded, staring off at the duo. She leaned into Sora's shoulder, smiling contently to herself.

xXx

They had made it to the other side of the park before Namine even realized what was happening.

"H-hey--! R-Roxas where a-are we go-oing?!" She questioned, having a hard time keeping up. Just as fast as they started, Roxas stopped, causing his 'hostage' to bump into his side. After he helped her find her barings, he looked around in all the directions.

"Hmm... Well I'd figure you want to go home." He said as he searched the parking lot for his car.

"Y-Yeah.." Escaped Namine's mouth.

Their car ride was full of Roxas singing. Namine assumed it was because of... well everything that just happened that day. Of course this would make things more awkward, but the artist also felt it somehow brought them much closer. When they got as close as Namine would allow to her house she got out, but before she could do anything else, Roxas made sure to get her attention.

"Hey Nami."

"Hmm?" She said, turning her head around to face him as she began to close the door.

"I don't plan on giving up on you just yet." He said with a sly grin sweeping across his face. Namine blushed profusely and immiately closed the door to his car.

* * *

**Alright well... A lot of stuff has been going on; moving, huge geology project due, plus some other stuff so thats why its taken so long for this chapter. Sorry! ^^;; **

**I don't think I'll update this story until I get some more reviews for it so yeah, instead I'll be working on my other story ****Would You?**

**Please review!!**


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